Papa Pingouin - Wikiwand

Conception

The song was composed by Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger –who are normally associated with Germany as a composer-lyricist combination–, with French lyrics by Pierre Delanoë and Jean-Paul Cara, and was recorded by Sophie & Magaly. It describes the fantasy life of the title character, a bored penguin who imagines flying like a seagull and travelling around the world, listing various places he visits in his imagination. The song ends with the penguin's realisation that life "on the ice floe" is not as bad as he had thought, so he "burns his suitcase" to signify that his desire to travel is over.^[1] Sophie & Magaly also recorded the German-language version of the song titled "Papa Pinguin".

Eurovision

The Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT) internally selected the song as its entrant for the 25th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.

On 19 April 1980, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Nederlands Congresgebouw in The Hague hosted by Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Sophie & Magaly performed "Papa Pingouin" fourth on the night, following Greece's "Autostop" by Anna Vissi and The Epikouri and preceding Morocco's "Bitaqat Hub" by Samira. Norbert Daum conducted the live orchestra in the performance of the Luxembourgian entry.^[2]

By the end of the night, the song had received 56 points, placing ninth out of nineteen entries.^[3]

Weekly charts

Pigloo version

Quick Facts "Le Papa Pingouin", Single by Pigloo ...

"Le Papa Pingouin"
Single by Pigloo
from the album La Banquise
Released	27 February 2006[5]
Length	3:09
Label	Sony BMG Music
Composer(s)	Ralph Siegel Bernd Meinunger
Lyricist(s)	Pierre Delanoë Jean-Paul Cara
Producer(s)	Christophe Berthier Philippe Kassenbeck
Pigloo singles chronology
"Le Papa Pingouin" (2006) "Le Ragga des pingouins" (2006)

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A remake of this song performed by animated penguin Pigloo became a hit in France in 2006, reaching number one on the SNEP Singles Chart for three weeks. The single remained on the chart for twenty-seven weeks, becoming the fifth-best-selling single in France that year. The song also charted on Swiss Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 24. A German version title "Papa Pinguin" also charted in German-speaking Europe, reaching number four in Austria and number six in both Germany and Switzerland.