Ça plane pour moi

"Ça plane pour moi" is a 1977 song credited to Belgian musician Plastic Bertrand, with vocals performed by producer Lou Deprijck. The backing track was previously utilized on the song "Jet Boy, Jet Girl" by Elton Motello.

The song has been covered by many artists, though the original recording was the most successful, reaching No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart in mid-1978. While mainly regarded as a punk rock song, "Ça plane pour moi" has also been described as new wave and as a parody of punk rock. The title is a French idiom that is best translated as "this works for me" (literally: "it is gliding for me").

Background
"Ça plane pour moi" was written by Lou Deprijck and Yvan Lacomblez. It was conceived as a comic pastiche of the punk movement. Deprijck explained:

"Everything started from the text of Pipou [Lacomblez], which required a very staccato singing, as did, in the United Kingdom, the then fashionable punk singers. I only brought to the text the title, by reference to a song by Michel Delpech, "Tu me fais planer". What we wanted to do was pogo-pogoing, the punk dance. A kind of pastiche. I had three simple chords, A E and D, and musicians that I had chosen to fit the bill. I did not want virtuosos but guys a little bit wild. Once in the studio, with this text and my three chords, I told them "Get by yourselves" and we did it."

The music was recorded by Mike Butcher (guitar), John Valcke (bass guitar) and Bob Dartsch (drums), and the song was released as a B-side to "Pogo-Pogo", which was chosen to launch the solo career of Plastic Bertrand. However, following the success of "Ça plane pour moi", the two sides were switched when the single was re-pressed. The session to record both songs took only two hours.

Composition
"Ça plane pour moi" is a three-chord rock song based on a twelve-bar blues progression that features nonsensical French lyrics with occasional lines in English. Lou Deprijck states that "the lyrics are a sequence of unconnected things, that a guy, who is stoned, thinks he sees". Steve Huey of AllMusic describes the song's melody as a "four-note hook which sounds like something straight out of an early Beach Boys or Four Seasons song", accompanied by "... mildly distorted guitars, plus a steadily pumping rhythm section and an old-time rock & roll-style saxophone." Huey also describes Deprijck's voice as "cartoonish...[staying] in a monotone as he recites all the lyrics."

Reception
The song was praised by Joe Strummer of The Clash: "Plastic Bertrand compressed into that three minutes a bloody good record that will get any comatose person toe-tapping, you know what I mean? By purist rules, it's not allowed to even mention Plastic Bertrand. Yet, this record was probably a lot better than a lot of so-called punk records."

In a review of the song for AllMusic, Steve Huey praised its "simple, inspired stupidity".

Chart performance
"Ça plane pour moi" became a hit in several European countries, peaking at No. 19 in Austria, No. 12 in Sweden, No. 11 in Bertrand's native Belgium, No. 8 in the U.K., No. 6 in West Germany, No. 4 in Ireland, No. 2 in the Netherlands, No. 7 in New Zealand and No. 2 in Australia. It also topped the Swiss charts for one week and the French charts for two consecutive weeks.

In the U.S., the single peaked at No. 47 on the Billboard Hot 100, a strong performance for a French-language song; only "Dominique" by The Singing Nun and "Je t'aime... moi non plus" by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin had performed as well previously. It also peaked at No. 58 in Canada.

The single has sold over 900,000 copies around the world and is regarded as a "punk-new wave-pop classic."

In popular culture
"Ça plane pour moi" is featured in the 1985 film National Lampoon's European Vacation, 2001's Winning London starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the 2004 comedy Eurotrip, Danny Boyle's 2010 film 127 Hours, the opening scene of 2011's Jackass 3.5, the 2012 film Ruby Sparks, the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street, the 2017 film Freak Show, and the trailer for the 2018 film Super Troopers 2. The song is also used as the soundtrack for a commercial spot for Time Warner Cable in the United States (April 2011). A cover version is featured in the video game Just Dance 2019.

Leila K version
Swedish singer and former rapper Leila K covered "Ça plane pour moi" in 1993. It was released by Mega Records as the second single from her first solo album, Carousel (1993). The song was produced by Denniz Pop and Douglas Carr, and achieved moderate success on the charts in many European countries. It peaked at No. 6 in Finland, No. 8 in Austria and Denmark, No. 13 in Germany, No. 16 in Belgium and No. 17 in Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Ça plane pour moi" reached No. 21 in May 1993.

Critical reception
Simon Price from Melody Maker called the song "a bizarre Moroder-ised version [...] on which she gets away with calling someone a fat c*** because it's in French, and adds, unbelievably, I am the Queen of the Divan." Pan-European magazine Music & Media remarked that here, the Plastic Bertrand French-language punk classic had been "re-styled in an electronic dance fashion à la Billy Idol. Très bien!" Head of music Peter Kricek at Czech Republic's Bonton Radio/Prague said that the original from 1978 was known in his country in the communist days, but it was more of an underground thing. He said, "The people here are absolutely mad about Leila's cover, which is a powerplay at our station. Every four hours we play it."

Alan Jones from Music Week gave it three out of five, stating that the song "is transformed into technopunk by the self-proclaimed 'queen of the divan' who, although better known as a rapper is in singing mode here." He also added that the Felix mixes on the CD and 12-inch "take it into trance territory. An odd combination, but likely to do well." Sylvia Patterson of Smash Hits praised Leila K's version, giving it five out of five and naming it Best New Single. She declared it "brilliant", saying, "Phew! Ruck and Rool!! (Or whatever it is in French). A delirious synth whirl which hollers and spits and pouts not unlike EMF in a Electrolux spin-cycle without their guitars."

Track listing

 * Maxi single (Urban 861 597-2)
 * 1) "Ça plane pour moi" (Short) – 3:23
 * 2) "Check the Dan" (Short) – 3:55
 * 3) "Ça plane pour moi" (Long) – 5:48
 * 4) "Check the Dan" (Long) – 6:35

Other cover versions

 * In 1978, by Benny (German singer) under the title "Bin wieder frei".
 * In 1979, by Telex on the album Looking for Saint Tropez.
 * In 1984, by Hermann Gunnarsson under the title "Einn dans við mig" on the album Frískur og Fjörugur.
 * In 1988, by Rumble on the Beach on the album Rumble
 * In 1992, by Sonic Youth for a compilation album.
 * In 1997, by Thee Headcoatees on the album Punk Girls.
 * In 1998, by the Presidents of the United States of America on their compilation album Rarities.
 * In 2006, by Richard Thompson on the album RT- The Life and Music of Richard Thompson.
 * In 2006, by Pigloo under the title "Ça plane pour moi (le twist)", as the third single from the album La Banquise. It reached number 18 on the French SNEP Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for 24 weeks.
 * In 2009, by Nouvelle Vague on the album 3.
 * In 2019, by Metallica at a concert in King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels.