Tuesday, June 4, 2013

The Unicorn Song


During the Middle Ages the people of Europe believed that unicorns existed. The King James Version of the Bible uses the word unicorn eight times. Unicorn horns were often found in cabinets of curiosities in Medieval and Renaissance Europe.  They were most often examples of the distinctive straight spiral single tusk of the narwhal whale. They were brought into Europe as a very valuable trade item, and sold as horns from the legendary unicorn; being of ivory, they passed the various tests intended to spot fake unicorn horns. Elizabeth I of England kept a "unicorn horn" in her cabinet of curiosities.

In 1967 when I was just starting to pay attention to the radio, The Irish Rovers had a top 40 hit with "The Unicorn". It sold 8 million copies worldwide and reached #7 on the US charts. Here is a copy I found on YouTube.



Listening to The Unicorn Song always makes me smile.  I found out a couple of interesting things about the song.  The first interesting fact is that The Irish Rovers were a Canadian band.  They are still touring, almost 50 years later.  The song was written by Shel Silverstein, who was a cartoonist, poet, recording artist and is probably best known for his children's books.  He was a very eclectic songwriter, penning such songs as "A Boy Named Sue", and many of Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show hits including "Sylvia's Mother" and "The Cover of the Rolling Stone".

This year I added another Unicorn themed album to my record collection, Helen Austin's Always Be A Unicorn.  I really enjoy Helen Austin's music.  I first became acquainted with her music through the song "Relay" which she wrote for Relay For Life.  This year she released her first children's album, "Always Be A Unicorn".  The record was nominated for a JUNO in the Children's Album of the Year category at Canada's Music Awards.


You can watch the YouTube video of the title track here.




The ABC Wednesday Meme is a fun way to see some great blogs.

21 comments:

  1. I love the Irish Rovers but I didn't know they were Canadian, eh?

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  2. Unusual background on that Irish Rovers song, and group! I know the song well. It has actually been the source of great theological debate, believe it or not...

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  3. Great post. Takes me back to my childhood. My Dad used to tell us unicorn stories he made up. They were great. He should have written them down.

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  4. I remember listening to this song, thanks for the memory.
    Ann

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  5. Very interesting Richie.
    I had no idea Shel Silverstein wrote things like A Boy Named Sue and the Unicorn Song.

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  6. Super post! I love unicorns and narwalls and that Iris Rovers song was great too.

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  7. Thank you for this beautiful post about a legendary creature. In onev of the Harry Potter books there is also a unicorn.
    Have a great week!
    Wil, ABCW Team

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  8. I learned about narwhales when I was teaching a unit on oceanography to 4th graders! And my daughters played with toy unicorns all the time when they were little. (Remember "My Little Pony" - they had some!)

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  9. Its years since I've heard the Irish Rovers, who knew they were Canadian. What a sweet song from Helen Austin.

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  10. I love the Irish Rovers! And I well remember the Unicorn song. Didn't know they were Canadian 'though.

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  11. Wonderful post full of song, mirth and magic...just like a Unicorn!

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  12. "Always be yourself. Unless you can be a Unicorn. Then always be a Unicorn."
    :)

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  13. I remember the Irish Rovers and the Unicorns that missed the boat! (the Ark)
    What fun to be reminded of it again!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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  14. Your unicorn is much better than my unicorn idea (I think I'll ditch mine:)! I also didn't know that about Shel Silverstein, how fun to discover this other side of him!

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  15. first time i've heard of the Unicorn Song, i like the melody.:p

    i have a Dr. Hook cd--one of the first cd's i bought. i love "Sylvia's Mother" and "The Cover of the Rolling Stone".

    narwhal whales are fascinating creatures.

    U is for...

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  16. Lovely musical take on the theme!!

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  17. Oh well, I just love the Irish Rovers and it was wonderful to hear them again - thanks for that old familiar video!

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  18. you mean unicorns are not real? lol :D such a magical creature.

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  19. At first I thought it was a rope on the water creature. "A Boy Named Sue" - I remember that!

    Hazel

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  20. I remember the unicorn song too - nice to be reminded of it again

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  21. I love that song by the Irish Rovers.
    Harry Potter also had unicorns with sacred blood.
    They will always be nice things to dream about.

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