Kenny Chesney Releases ‘Better Boat’ From ‘Songs for the Saints’

Fresh off the success of Kenny Chesney‘s recent No. 1 hit, “Get Along,” the singer has chosen “Better Boat” as his next single. Both songs are from his recently-released Songs for the Saints album.

“Of all the songs on Songs for the Saints, ‘Better Boat’ really captures the emotion of that moment – and the months following Hurricanes Irma and Maria,” Chesney says in a statement. “There’s an acceptance it takes to face those challenges and all that uncertainty, something I know I’ve never seen in my lifetime.

“There’s a lyric that goes, ‘I ride the waves I can’t control…’ And that’s exactly how this was, and in some ways, still is.”

Chesney wrote and/or recorded all of the tracks on Songs for the Saints while coping with the aftermath of the deadly hurricanes, and finding the best way to lend help to the thousands impacted by the storms, including those on St. John, the island he calls home.

“It was a really, really scary time,” Chesney tells Nashville’s Tennessean. “All that anxiety and all that fear made me hyper-focused to a point where I became it. I would get up every day, go into the studio and make this record. I’ve never made a record that was so in the moment, and I think you can hear that angst and I think you can hear the anxiety.”

Chesney became a fan of Smith’s music when he first started finding a respite in the Caribbean islands, many years ago.

“Mindy’s voice is so much a part of my life on the islands,” Chesney explains. “I remember ‘Come To Jesus’ so many nights, and so many mornings. Her voice would drift in through the windows, across the water, and it would just hold you. She’s like an angel, or a spirit who makes everything feel like it will be alright – and I thought that’s everything this song says beyond the actual words.”

All of the proceeds from Songs for the Saints will go to the Love for Love City Fund, to help continue in the recovery efforts in the devastated islands.

“I never thought when I started my musical journey that I would be in a place to help at this level,” Chesney shares on the Ty, Kelly and Chuck Show. “I feel so blessed that I’m in that spot, because I’ve been given a platform, and a stage, and somewhat of a voice to go in and make music that can help people heal.”

Purchase Songs For The Saints at KennyChesney.com.

Photo Credit: EB Media/Allister Ann