"Papa Pingouin" (; "Poppa/Daddy Penguin") was the entry in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1980 The Eurovision Song Contest 1980 was the 25th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in The Hague, Netherlands, and was organised by host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) – which agreed to stage the event a ...

, performed in French by the French twin sisters

Sophie & Magaly Sophie and Magaly was a French musical duo composed of twin sisters Sophie (24 August 1962 – 27 February 2019) and Magaly Gilles-Giovannoni (24 August 1962 – 2 April 1996). The duo are best known for representing Luxembourg in the Eurovision ...

Background

The song was written by

Ralph Siegel Ralph Siegel (born 30 September 1945) is a German record producer and songwriter. Siegel is one of the most notable figures at the Eurovision Song Contest, in which he has participated with 24 songs so far, among them the 1982 winner song Ein bi ...

and

Bernd Meinunger Bernd Meinunger (born 30 September 1944 in Meiningen) is a German lyricist and record producer (with Hanne Haller) who frequently works with Ralph Siegel and David Brandes. Several of his songs have represented Germany in the ''Eurovision Song ...

, who are normally associated with as a composer-lyricist combination. It describes the fantasy life of the title character, a bored

penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

who imagines flying like a

seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...

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. Sophie & Magaly also recorded a German-language version of the song, "Papa Pinguin".

Eurovision performance

The song was performed fourth on the night, following 's Anna Vissi And The Epikouri with " Autostop" and preceding 's

Samira Samira (also spelled Samirah, Sameera, and Sameerah /sæˈmiːrə/, ar, سميرة is an Arabic female given name. It is derived from the Arabic root, root s-m-r ('to spend the night in talking'), ultimately meaning ''night-companion'', ''enterta ...

with " Bitaqat Hub". At the close of voting, it had received 56 points, placing ninth in a field of 19.

Pigloo version

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 27 weeks, becoming the fifth-best-selling single in France that year. The song also charted on

Swiss Singles Chart The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland's main Record chart, music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * ...

, 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.

Formats and track listings

CD single # "Le Papa pingouin" — 3:09 # "Les Manchots et les Pingouins" (instrumental) — 3:12 Digital download # "Le Papa pingouin" — 3:09

Charts

Weekly charts

"Le Papa Pingouin" "Papa Pinguin"

Year-end charts

"Le Papa Pingouin" "Papa Pinguin"

Certifications and sales

External links

Official Eurovision Song Contest site, history by year, 1980

Detailed info & lyrics, The Diggiloo Thrush, "Papa Pingouin"

ESCtoday.com, ''The Sad Life Story of Sophie & Magaly''

References

{{Authority control 1980 songs 2006 singles 2007 singles Eurovision songs of Luxembourg Eurovision songs of 1980 SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Pigloo songs Songs written by Ralph Siegel Songs written by Bernd Meinunger Songs written by Pierre Delanoë Sony BMG singles Songs about birds