Papa Pingouin

"Papa Pingouin"
Single by Sophie & Magaly
LanguageFrench
B-side"Tous Les Enfants Du Monde"
Released1980
Length3:05
LabelJupiter
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Eurovision Song Contest 1980 entry
Country
Artist(s)
  • Sophie Gilles
  • Magaly Gilles
As
Language
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Conductor
Finals performance
Final result
9th
Final points
56
Entry chronology
◄ "J'ai déjà vu ça dans tes yeux" (1979)
"C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique" (1981) ►
Official performance video
"Papa Pingouin" on YouTube

"Papa Pingouin" (French pronunciation: [papa pɛ̃ɡwɛ̃]; "Poppa/Daddy Penguin") is a song recorded by French twin sisters Sophie & Magaly, with music composed by Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger, and lyrics by Pierre Delanoë and Jean-Paul Cara. It represented Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980, held in The Hague.

Background

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Conception

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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

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Sophie & Magaly at Eurovision.

The Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CTL) 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]

Chart history

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1980) Peak
position
France (IFOP)[4] 18

Legacy

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Pigloo version

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"Le Papa Pingouin"
Single by Pigloo
from the album La Banquise
Released27 February 2006 (2006-02-27)[5]
Length3:09
LabelSony 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)

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.

Formats and track listings

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CD single

  1. "Le Papa pingouin" — 3:09
  2. "Les Manchots et les Pingouins" (instrumental) — 3:12

Digital download

  1. "Le Papa pingouin" — 3:09

Chart history

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[18] Gold 292,224[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Papa Pingouin - lyrics". The Diggiloo Thrush.
  2. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1980". Eurovision Song Contest. 19 April 1980. NOS / EBU.
  3. ^ "Official Eurovision Song Contest 1980 scoreboard". Eurovision Song Contest.
  4. ^ "Tous les titres par artiste - S". InfoDisc (in French)., Select "SOPHIE & MAGALY" in the menu and click OK.
  5. ^ a b "Pigloo – Le Papa Pingouin" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Pigloo – Le Papa Pingouin" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Hits of the World: Eurocharts". Music & Media. Vol. 118, no. 16. 22 April 2006. p. 81.
  8. ^ "Pigloo – Le Papa Pingouin". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Pigloo – Papa Pinguin" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Pigloo – Papa Pinguin" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Pigloo – Papa Pinguin". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Rapports annuels 2006" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  13. ^ "European Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 2006" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 2007" (in German). Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 2007" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  17. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2007" (in German). Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Certifications Singles Platine – année 2006" (in French). Disque en France. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  19. ^ "The 100 best-selling singles in France of 2006". fanofmusic.free.fr (in French). Retrieved 16 December 2022.
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