"The Unicorn" is a song written by

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer / songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before ...

. It was originally released in 1962 on his album ''Inside Folk Songs'' (Atlantic 8072).

Background

The lyrics to the song also appear, printed as a poem, based on the biblical tale, ''

Noah's Ark Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in ...

'', in Shel Silverstein's book '' Where the Sidewalk Ends''. In the original version of the song, the Irish Rovers speak half of the lyrics, as well as the part of the fourth chorus. The final line is spoken freely without music: "And that's why you'll never see a Unicorn to this very day".

Irish Rovers recording

"The Unicorn" was made very popular by

the Irish Rovers The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that originated in Toronto, Canada. Formed in 1963'Irish Rovers are Digging out those old Folk songs', By Ballymena Weekly Editor, Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, N. Ireland – 20 August 1964 and na ...

in 1968. It remains one of the best-known songs in the Irish Rovers' long career. It sold 8 million copies worldwide and in their native Ireland, the song peaked at #5 on the Irish Singles Chart. In addition, the song was nominated for Best Folk Performance at the 1969 Grammy Awards. Elsewhere, "The Unicorn" peaked at #4 in Canada, and in the US, reached #2 on the US Adult Contemporary Chart, and #7 on the Hot 100.

Other cover versions

Silverstein's songbook, "Dirty Feet" (TRO/Hollis Music, 1969), includes a discography saying that, along with the Irish Rovers and Silverstein's versions, "The Unicorn" had been recorded by * Bill Anderson (Decca) * Shay Duffin (RCA) * Robert Goulet (Columbia) *Bob Turner (ABC) *Uncle Bill" (Dot). (The record "Uncle Bill Socks It To Ya" was by Burt Wilson, imitating W.C. Fields) *Will Millar of the Irish Rovers recorded another, earlier version of the song with the St. Michaels Kids. In 1981 Millar opened an Irish pub in Toronto under the name The Unicorn. *Kidsongs used the song for Good Night Sleep Tight, but had to leave out the sad part to make it more kid-friendly.

Description

According to the song, the

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

was not a fantasy, but a creature that literally missed the boat by not boarding

in time to be saved from the

Great Flood A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primaeval ...

described in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. They are said to be the loveliest of all animals but also silly.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unicorn, The 1968 singles Songs written by Shel Silverstein Children's songs American folk songs Decca Records singles MCA Records singles Festival Records singles Number-one singles in Australia Song recordings produced by Jerry Wexler Atlantic Records singles Noah's Ark in popular culture Songs about fictional characters Songs about floods Songs about horses 1962 songs Fictional unicorns The Bachelors songs