SongsTube Donovan

About "Atlantis"

"Atlantis" is a song written and performed by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. Produced by Mickie Most for Donovan's seventh studio album Barabajagal (1969), the song incorporates elements of folk rock and the psychedelic pop genre. Lyrically, "Atlantis" tells of a mythological antediluvian civilization based on the fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works Timaeus and Critias, with much of the verses sung as a quiet monologue.

The song was first released by Pye Records as a single in 1968 and became a worldwide success. It reached number one in the Netherlands and in Switzerland in 1969, while also reaching the top five in the Austria, New Zealand, and West Germany. In the United States, where it served as the B-side to "To Susan on the West Coast, Waiting", it reached number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100, whilst in the singer's native country the single managed only a modest number 23 on the UK Singles Chart only.

"Atlantis" has since been recorded by several artists, including Austrian singer Georg Danzer, German musical project U96 and German actor Thorsten Feller. In 2001, Donovan and German pop band No Angels re-recorded the track for the closing credits of the Walt Disney Feature Animation picture Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001). Included on a concomitant album for the German-speaking music market, it was once more released as a single and re-entered the top five in Austria and Germany.