Good call Sojourneyman, I knew there was at least one historical example of burning the ships like that. There may be literary examples that this is meant to reference, as well. I'm pretty sure it's not what they were going for, but Warcraft III's storyline has a similar plot device, where one of the main characters secretly destroys his own army's ships, to prevent them from deserting and to rally them against the enemy.
Anyway, the song is about committing fully and completely to a cause. The speaker is ordering the ships burned, forcing himself (and his men) to commit to his task until the very end - either he'll be a ghost or a king, but he won't turn around and run.
Good call Sojourneyman, I knew there was at least one historical example of burning the ships like that. There may be literary examples that this is meant to reference, as well. I'm pretty sure it's not what they were going for, but Warcraft III's storyline has a similar plot device, where one of the main characters secretly destroys his own army's ships, to prevent them from deserting and to rally them against the enemy.
Anyway, the song is about committing fully and completely to a cause. The speaker is ordering the ships burned, forcing himself (and his men) to commit to his task until the very end - either he'll be a ghost or a king, but he won't turn around and run.