"Atlantis" is a song written and performed by Scottish singer-songwriter

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

. Produced by

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and t ...

for Donovan's seventh studio album '' Barabajagal'' (1969), the song tells of a mythological antediluvian civilization based on the

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

al island mentioned in an

allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...

on the

hubris Hubris (; ), or less frequently hybris (), is extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence and complacency, often in combination with (or synonymous with) arrogance. Hubris, arrogance, and pretension are related to the need for vi ...

of nations in

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

's works '' Timaeus'' and ''

Critias Critias (; , ''Kritias''; – 403 BC) was an ancient Athenian poet, philosopher and political leader. He is known today for being a student of Socrates, a writer of some regard, and for becoming the leader of the Thirty Tyrants, who ruled Athens ...

'', with much of the verses spoken as a quiet monologue. The song was first released by

Pye Records PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...

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, it was initially released as the to "To Susan on the West Coast, Waiting", but was promoted to the A-side after receiving significant airplay, eventually reaching number seven on the US ''Billboard'' . In the singer's native country, the single managed only a modest number 23 on the UK Singles Chart. "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 No Angels are an all-female Pop music, pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Ludmilla Diakovska, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originat ...

re-recorded the track for the

closing credits Closing credits, aka end credits or end titles, are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television show, or video game. While opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to or at th ...

of the

Walt Disney Feature Animation Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...

picture '' Atlantis: The Lost Empire'' (2001). Included on a

concomitant Concomitance is the condition of accompanying or coexisting. A concomitant is something that accompanies something else. Concomitant or concomitance may refer to: * Concomitance (doctrine) The Doctrine of Concomitance is a Eucharistic theologica ...

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.

Background

"Atlantis" was written by

and credited as produced by

for his seventh studio album '' Barabajagal'' (1969). Donovan stated his inspiration for the song came from his reading of Frederick Oliver's '' A Dweller on Two Planets'', who claimed to have transcribed it from a being named Phylos the Thibetan. He then wrote a poem over chords taught to him by mentor

Derroll Adams Derroll Adams (November 27, 1925 – February 6, 2000) was an American folk musician. Biography He was born Derroll Lewis Thompson in Portland, Oregon, United States. At 16, he served in the Army, but was discharged when his true age of 16 was ...

, and recorded it at American Recording Company in Los Angeles with producer Gabriel Mekler in early November 1968, at the completion of a North American tour. Mekler played piano on the track, devising chord shapes with the pedal open, while Donovan created a harp-like sound by striking the strings of a grand piano with a quill. Donovan wanted a guitarist to play a solo on the record but as no guitarist had been booked, he used an engineer named Rick who played a Fender Stratocaster. Although Donovan and Mekler had produced the recording, credit was given to his usual producer

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

was rumored to have sung backing vocals for the song. However, Donovan said in a 2008 interview with Goldmine Magazine that McCartney was not involved in the recording sessions.Goldmine Magazine
10 October 2008. The introduction of song is a quiet monologue spoken over the song's repeated musical melody, telling of the mythological

antediluvian The antediluvian (alternatively pre-diluvian or pre-flood) period is the time period chronicled in the Bible between the fall of man and the Genesis flood narrative in biblical cosmology. The term was coined by Thomas Browne (1605–1682). The n ...

civilization of

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

. The second half of the song is more energetic, with Donovan singing of finding his true love in Atlantis. The theme is common for the 1960s: fanciful mythology as a symbol of the

counterculture movement The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is ofte ...

, with the hope that true love will be found if Atlantis can be rediscovered.

Release and reception

Contract disputes at the time caused a complicated series of different releases in the United Kingdom and United States. "Atlantis" was originally released in the United Kingdom on November 29, 1968 as a single with "I Love My Shirt" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. In January 1969 it was released in the US as the B-side to "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting", before appearing on the album '' Barabajagal'' that August. The LP was not released in the UK. The song was not deemed likely to be a hit in the US because of its length and the fact that the first third of the song is spoken prose and therefore not "radio-friendly". It was for this reason that, despite its success in Europe, "Atlantis" was demoted to B-side status. However, the record company A&R executives were proved wrong when the popularity of "Atlantis" far surpassed that of its A-side. The song was quite successful, reaching number seven on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

charts. It became Donovan's final top-10 single in the US.

Track listings

All tracks written by Donovan Leitch and produced by

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Georg Danzer version

In 1984, Austrian musician Georg Danzer published a German-language version of the song, which has remained musically faithful to the original. First published on his album ''Menschliche Wärm''e, it appeared in the later course on the compilations ''Greenpeace'', ''Hit Barometer'' and ''Überblicke''. In Austria, it became a top 20 hit on the

Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired on Tuesdays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as ...

Track listings

7-inch single # Atlantis - 4:25 # Die Türken - 4:55 CD single # "Atlantis" (radio edit) - 3:44 # "Atlantis" (acoustic edit) - 3:50

Charts

No Angels version

Production and recording

In the late 1990s,

started production on '' Atlantis: The Lost Empire'', an

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

, based on the

saga. Interested in slipping his 1968 version into the

film soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...

, Donovan immediately opened negotiations with the studios; however Disney was barely interested in the song and plans eventually fell through. By 2000, Disney had committed German producer

Leslie Mándoki László "Leslie" Mándoki (born 7 January 1953) is a German-Hungarian musician who became known as a member of the music group Dschinghis Khan. He continued his career as a solo artist and became a music producer who worked with many internat ...

to produce a concomitant album for the German-speaking music markets, entitled ''Stars Inspired by Atlantis''. After stumbling over the original song, Mándoki approached Donovan by phone, describing him his idea of a collaboration with German newcomers

, with whom Mándoki had previously worked on their debut '' Elle'ments'' (2001), and a few days later Donovan and the band met at the

Lake Starnberg Lake Starnberg, or ''Starnberger See'' ) — called Lake Würm or ''Würmsee'' until 1962 — is Germany's second-largest body of fresh water, having great depth, and fifth-largest lake by area. It and its surroundings lie in three different Bava ...

to start recording.

Release and reception

"Atlantis" served as the band's fourth single along with " When the Angels Sing", a

midtempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given composition, and is often also an indication of the composition's character or atmos ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

from their debut album '' Elle'ments'' (2001). Physical CD singles of the double-A single were released on 19 November 2001 by Cheyenne Records. The

maxi single A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...

includes the duet version, the Submarine Mix of "Atlantis" and three new remixes "When the Angels Sing". Upon its release, "Atlantis" / "When the Angels Sings" debuted at No. 5 on the

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...

in the week of 3 December 2001. It spent six weeks within the top 10 and fell out of the chart in the 14th weeks, becoming the 79th highest-selling single of 2001 in Germany. In Austria, the double-A single debuted at No. 10 on the

. It peaked at No. 5 in its third week and spent four more weeks within the top 10, leaving the top 75 after 14 weeks. In Switzerland, "Atlantis" / "When the Angels Sings" entered the

Swiss Hitparade The Swiss Hitparade () is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top 75 (released since 1968) * Singles T ...

at No. 56 in the week of 2 December. It reached its peak, No. 16, in its second week, becoming the band's first single to miss the top 10. It fell out of the top 100 after twelve weeks on the chart.

Music video

The single's

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was directed by

Hannes Rossacher Hannes Rossacher (born 16 October 1952, Steyr) is an Austrian film director and film producer. Rossacher has worked with Rudi Dolezal since 1976 in their production company DoRo Productions. His contributions to the ORF (broadcaster), ORF youth pr ...

for

DoRo Productions DoRo Produktion Ges.mbH DoRo Productions is a film company based in Vienna, Austria. DoRo was named after the surnames of founders Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher. History Dolezal and Rossacher, also known as the "Torpedo Twins", first started ...

and shot in Berlin, Germany in late 2001. It shows Donovan and the band in a recording studio accented by underwater settings, backdrops, and scenes inspired by the animated movie.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Elle'ments''. * Nadja Benaissa – vocals * Laszlo Bencker – keyboards, bass * Lucy Diakovska – vocals * Pit Floss – additional engineering * Felix Knöchel – assistant engineer * George Kopecsni – acoustic guitar *

– production, drums, percussion * Sandy Mölling – vocals * Vanessa Petruo – vocals * Mike "Spike" Streefkerk – mixing * Jessica Wahls – vocals * Peter Wölpe – guitar * Stefan Zeh – additional engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other cover versions

*In 1993, doom metal band Trouble released a cover of Atlantis, with additional material, on their album Manic Frustration and titled it "Breathe..." *In 1999, German actor Thorsten Feller covered the song under the pseudonym Feller. T *In 2000, Donovan did a parody version for his cameo in the ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

'' episode " The Deep South", in which he describes the lost city of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

References

External links

Mistakes in Donovan's Atlantis
{{Atlantis: The Lost Empire Songs about Atlantis Spoken word 1968 songs 1968 singles 1969 singles 1984 singles 1999 singles 2001 singles Pye Records singles Epic Records singles Polydor Records singles Atlantis (franchise) Donovan songs No Angels songs Number-one singles in Switzerland Songs written by Donovan Song recordings produced by Mickie Most Disney songs Music videos directed by Hannes Rossacher Music videos shot in Germany