Produced by Mickie Most for Donovan's seventh studio album Barabajagal (1969), the song 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 spoken as a quiet monologue.

In the United States, it was initially released as the B-side 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 Hot 100.

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,[3] it was once more released as a single and re-entered the top five in Austria and Germany.

The theme is common for the 1960s: fanciful mythology as a symbol of the counterculture movement, with the hope that true love will be found if Atlantis can be rediscovered.

In 1984, Austrian musician Georg Danzer published a German-language version of the song, which has remained musically faithful to the original.

[3] "Atlantis" served as the band's fourth single along with "When the Angels Sing", a midtempo ballad from their debut album Elle'ments (2001).

[16] The maxi single includes the duet version, the Submarine Mix of "Atlantis" and three new remixes "When the Angels Sing".

[20] The single's music video was directed by Hannes Rossacher for DoRo Productions and shot in Berlin, Germany in late 2001.

[3] It shows Donovan and the band in a recording studio accented by underwater settings, backdrops, and scenes inspired by the animated movie.