"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 developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

. It was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1968 and became a worldwide success; becoming a 1 hit in the Netherlands and in Switzerland in 1969, No. 2 in Germany and South Africa, No. 12 in Canada, and No. 4 in Austria. In the United States, where it served as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to "To Susan on the West Coast, Waiting", it reached No. 7, whilst in the singer's native country the single managed only a modest No. 23 placing. In 2001, Donovan and German pop band

No Angels No Angels are an all-female pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originated on the debut season of th ...

re-recorded the track for the

closing credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the Cast member, cast and Film crew, crew of a particular Film, motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear clos ...

of the

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

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), a Christian doctrine * Concomitant (classical algebraic ...

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.

Original by Donovan

Theme

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. The narrative take ...

civilization of

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

. 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 that developed throughout much of the Western world in the 1960s and has been ongoing to the present day. The aggregate movement gained momentum as the civil rights mo ...

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

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

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.

Release and reception

Contract disputes at the time caused a complicated series of different releases in the United Kingdom and United States. It was originally released in the UK as a single with "I Love My Shirt" as the

. In 1969 it was released in the US on the album ''

Barabajagal ''Barabajagal'' is the seventh studio album and eighth album overall from British singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States on 11 August 1969 ( Epic Records BN 26481 (stereo)), but was not released in the United Kingdom be ...

''. The LP was not released in the UK, however, and "Atlantis" was next released in the US as the B-side to "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting". 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 #7 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 advertise ...

charts, and the song itself became an anthem of the

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

movement. The song's most prominent usage was in the 1990 mob movie ''

GoodFellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' Wis ...

'' where Tommy DeVito (based on Tommy DeSimone) and Jimmy Conway (based on Jimmy Burke) are beating up Billy Batts at a bar after he insulted the former. 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. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...

'' episode '

The Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

', in which he describes the lost city of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Charts

Georg Danzer version

In 1984, Austrian musician

Georg Danzer Georg Franz Danzer (7 October 1946, in Vienna – 21 June 2007, in Asperhofen, Lower Austria) was an Austrian singer-songwriter. Although he is credited as one of the pioneers of Austropop (most famous are his comic songs "Jö schau" (about a str ...

published a German-language version of the song, which has remained musically faithful to the original. First published on the album Menschliche Wärme, it appeared in the later course on the compilations Greenpeace, Hit Barometer and Überblicke. In Austria, it became a top 20 hit.

Track listings

7-inch single # Atlantis - 4:25 # Die Türken - 4:55

Charts

Feller version

In 1999, German actor Thorsten Feller covered the song under the pseudonym Feller. The cover is included on the compilations ''Chartmix 5'' and ''Top 13 (99) 20 Top Hits aus den internationalen Charts 5/99''.

Track listings

CD single # "Atlantis" (radio edit) - 3:44 # "Atlantis" (acoustic edit) - 3:50

No Angels version

Production and recording

In the late 1990s,

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

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

, based on the

saga. Interested in slipping his 1968 version into the

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

, 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 ''Elle'ments'' is the debut studio album by German girl group No Angels. It was first released by Polydor–Zeitgeist and Cheyenne Records on 12 March 2001 in German-speaking Europe. After winning the inaugural season of the reality talent contes ...

'' (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 Ba ...

to start recording.

Release and reception

"Atlantis" served as the band's fourth single along with "

When the Angels Sing "When the Angels Sing" is a song recorded by German pop group No Angels. It was written by Peter Ries and Charlemaine Thomas-Schmidtner and produced by the former for the band's debut studio album, ''Elle'ments'' (2001). A midtempo pop ballad, ...

", a

midtempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

from their debut album ''

'' (2001). Physical CD singles of the double-A single were released on 19 November 2001 by Cheyenne Records. The

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (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. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...

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

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

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

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

. 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, "When the Angels Sing"/"Atlantis" entered the

Swiss Hitparade The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer 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 ...

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 of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

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 youth program " Ohne Maulk ...

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 start ...

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 Nadja Benaissa (born 26 April 1982) is a German singer and television personality. She rose to fame in late 2000 when she auditioned for the German adaption of the reality television show ''Popstars'' and became a member of the girl group No An ...

– vocals * Laszlo Bencker – keyboards, bass *

Lucy Diakovska Ludmila Lubomirova "Lucy" Diakovska ( bg, Людмила Любомирова Дяковска; born 2 April 1976) is a Bulgarian and German singer and television personality. She rose to prominence as one of the founding members of the all-fem ...

– vocals * Pit Floss – additional engineering * Felix Knöchel – assistant engineer * George Kopecsni – acoustic guitar *

–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, drums, percussion *

Sandy Mölling Sandy Mölling (born 27 April 1981) is a German singer and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the members of the girl group No Angels, which were formed in 2000 on the German television talent show ''Popstars'', becoming one of ...

– vocals *

Vanessa Petruo Vanessa Anneliese Petruo-Zink (born 23 October 1979) is a German former singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. Born and raised in Berlin within a family of actors, she had minor roles in television and as a voice actress before ...

– vocals * Mike "Spike" Streefkerk – mixing *

Jessica Wahls Jessica Martina Wahls (born 2 February 1977), also known under her nickname Jess, is a German pop singer and television host, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the " biggest-selling ...

– vocals * Peter Wölpe – guitar * Stefan Zeh – additional engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Mistakes in Donovan's Atlantis
{{Authority control Songs about Atlantis Spoken word 1968 songs 1968 singles 1969 singles 1984 singles 1999 singles 2001 singles Atlantis: The Lost Empire Donovan songs No Angels songs Number-one singles in Switzerland Songs written by Donovan Song recordings produced by Mickie Most Disney songs