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Songfacts:  You can leave comments about the song at the bottom of the page.

Shel Silverstein wrote this as a parody of teen-heartbreak songs. It was delivered with very dramatic emotion.

This flopped when it was first released, but when the record company started promoting it, it took off and became a hit.

In 1972, Silverstein told Rolling Stone magazine that there was a real Sylvia: "I just changed the last name, not to protect the innocent, but because it didn't fit. It happened about eight years ago and was pretty much the way it was in the song. I called Sylvia and her mother said, 'She can't talk to you.' I said, 'Why not?' Her mother said she was packing and she was leaving to get married, which was a big surprise to me. The guy was in Mexico and he was a bullfighter and a painter. At the time I thought that was like being a combination brain surgeon and encyclopedia salesman. Her mother finally let me talk to her, but her last words were, 'Shel, don't spoil it.' For about ten seconds I had this ego charge, as if I could have spoiled it. I couldn't have spoiled it with a sledge hammer."

Silverstein was a popular author and songwriter, who wrote for both children and adults. He was a writer and cartoonist for Playboy magazine, and a best-selling author of children's poems. He wrote "A Boy Named Sue" for Johnny Cash and another hit song for Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: "Cover Of The Rolling Stone." He died of a heart attack in 1999 at age 68. Learn more about Shel Silverstein in our interview with Mitch Myers.

In the UK, this was kept out of the #1 spot by Donny Osmond's "Puppy Love." (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England, for all above)

Comments:

A great song, especially with the voice it is sung with... Very heartbreaking.
- Budoshi, Sandnessjøen, Norway

Here it is: He only wants to say goodbye, but Mrs Avery tells him where to meet her, telling him she is crying (raining). It's ironic.
- Andy, London, United Kingdom

I was just a young kid when this came out and I had a HUGE crush on my Mom's Spanish friend Sylvia...hhhrrruuuummmbbbaaaa.
- Thomas, Somerville, AL

When I first heard this song I was completely there with the hero of the song, living his emotional devastation. Tears poured down my face. What is particularly good is the line "thank you for calling sir, and please would you call back again" so he becomes a complete stranger, so the song has at that point a surreal quality - is this really real?
- Peter G. Brown, London, United Kingdom

I googled "doctor Hook/Sylvia's Mother' and look where it has brought me.The sense of dramatic urgency (and teenage desperation) is attenuated by the operator's "forty cents more for the next three minutes....." Brilliant.
- Eric, Nairobi, Kenya

I am surprised that many of you who posted comments find the song enjoyable and emotional. When listening to it, I laugh, because to me it is one of the silliest and most ludicrous ever written or performed.
- Bill, Howard Beach, NY

This was one of many songs Shel Silverstein wrote for Dr. Hook. When Dennis Locorriere sang it, he sounded like he was in tears, especially on the line "And the operator says forty cents more for the next three minutes please."
- Howard, St. Louis Park, MN

I grew up reading Shel Silverstein so when my dad played this for me and i found out he wrote it i instantly fell in love with this song.
- Kris, Wichita, KS

By the time the end of the song comes, its so melodramatic, it's funny...Were they really trying to convey desperation or were they going for that over the top effect?
- Madison, Norway, ME

I saw Dr. Hook in concert in the 70's. There was an additional verse regarding Sylvia's father. It had something to do with Sylvia being pregnant and the caller was the baby's father. I have never been able to find the lyrics, so it must be in concert only.
- James, Wichita, KS

I have to admit, after hearing the some over and over again, I got the impression that Sylvia's mother was giving out hints to the guy on the phone, telling him her every move, where and when she was leaving and to call back soon, bec she felt him and Sylvia were a good match and she wanted to give him another shot. Anyone else have that thought? or is it crazy? or is it obvious?
- Dave, Austin, TX

Has anyone seen these guys in concert? I understand that an additional part of the song in concert is a conversation with Sylvia's father.
- Lester, New York City, NY

It is almost impossible for me to meet new people without them singing the first few lines of this song! Where at first I found it irritating, I now find it entertaining and have learnt to say: " I am busy so leave me alone!" Having one's name immortalized in song is flattering (risk of people forgetting you is slim) but scary at the same time especially when you find yourself living out some of its contents!
- Sylvia, Suva, United States

i absolutly love this song! it is so sweet. its a really good song to belt out in the car. and it has the best lyrics. very underated
- Dee, khancoban, Australia

Wasn't this song also the title song of a movie by the same or a similar name?
- Richard, Panama