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