{{Infobox song | name = Better Boat | cover = Better boat single art.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Kenny Chesney with Mindy Smith | album = Songs for the Saints | released = {{Start date|2018|8|27}} | recorded = | studio = | genre = Country | length = {{Duration|m=3|s=44}} | label = Blue Chair/Warner Bros. Nashville | writer = {{hlist|Travis Meadows|Liz Rose}} | producer = {{hlist|Kenny Chesney|Buddy Cannon}} | chronology = Kenny Chesney | prev_title = Get Along | prev_year = 2018 | next_title = Tip of My Tongue | next_year = 2019 }} "'''Better Boat'''" is a song written by Travis Meadows and Liz Rose, and recorded by American country music singer Kenny Chesney featuring Mindy Smith. It was released in August 2018 as the second single from Chesney's album ''Songs for the Saints''.
==Content and history== Chesney took inspiration from Hurricane Irma's aftermath when recording ''Songs for the Saints'', and in a press release, he said that he felt that "Better Boat" "really captures the emotion of that moment".<ref name="boot">{{cite web | url=http://theboot.com/kenny-chesney-mindy-smith-better-boat/ | title=Kenny Chesney Teams with Mindy Smith on New Single, 'Better Boat' [Listen] | work=The Boot | date=August 7, 2018 | access-date=December 14, 2018 | author=Liv Stecker}}</ref> The song features a vocal backing from Mindy Smith, and classical guitar parts performed by Mac McAnally.<ref name="boot"/> Its lyrics center on overcoming adversity and finding positivity in life struggles, centered around a metaphor of building a "better boat" to navigate the sea.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://tasteofcountry.com/kenny-chesney-better-boat/ | title=Kenny Chesney's 'Better Boat' Finds Him Searching for Hope [Listen] | work=Taste of Country | date=August 7, 2018 | access-date=December 14, 2018}}</ref><ref name="stone">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/hear-kenny-chesneys-reflective-new-song-better-boat-699049/ | title=Hear Kenny Chesney's Reflective New Song 'Better Boat' | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=July 13, 2018 | access-date=December 14, 2018 | author=Chris Parton}}</ref>
Travis Meadows, who wrote the song with Liz Rose, said that he cried when he heard Chesney's rendition for the first time. Of the song's meaning, he said that "I had been in a recovery meeting, and I heard something that really changed my life. Serenity is the thing that everybody in those meetings is looking for. We as humans, we’re looking for serenity; some kind of peace of mind in this crazy blue ball we live on. It was said, ‘Serenity is not found in a calmer sea; it’s found in the building of a better boat."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cmt.com/news/1796959/travis-meadows-provides-foundation-for-kenny-chesneys-better-boat/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714092612/http://www.cmt.com/news/1796959/travis-meadows-provides-foundation-for-kenny-chesneys-better-boat/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=July 14, 2018 | title=Travis Meadows Provides Foundation for Kenny Chesney's "Better Boat" | work=CMT | date=July 13, 2018 | access-date=December 14, 2018 | author=Lauren Tingle}}</ref> Meadows' own version appears on his 2017 album ''First Cigarette''.<ref name="stone"/>
==Chart performance== "Better Boat" peaked at number 25 on Country Airplay in December 2018, accounting for Chesney's lowest peak there, and his first to miss the top 20 since "I Will Stand" reached number 27 on the same chart in 1998.
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+Chart performance for "Better Boat" ! scope="col"| Chart (2018) ! scope="col"| Peak<br />position |- {{single chart|Billboardcanadacountry|49|artist=Kenny Chesney|rowheader=true}} |- {{single chart|Billboardcountryairplay|25|artist=Kenny Chesney|rowheader=true}} |- {{single chart|Billboardcountrysongs|34|artist=Kenny Chesney|rowheader=true}} |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Kenny Chesney 2010-2029 singles}} {{Mindy Smith}} {{authority control}}
Category:2018 songs Category:2018 singles Category:Kenny Chesney songs Category:Songs written by Travis Meadows Category:Songs written by Liz Rose Category:Song recordings produced by Buddy Cannon Category:Warner Records singles Category:Male–female vocal duets Category:Songs about boats