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.

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.

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.

[3] 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.