--- title: MIA Paper Planes Song Is Back in Meme Form description: M.I.A.'s 2008 song "Paper Planes" is getting a second life online in the form of a meme taking inspiration from its memorable lyrics. canonical: https://time.com/5346281/mia-paper-planes-memes/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-23T20:07:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:53:59.319Z og:title: M.I.A.'s Iconic Song 'Paper Planes' Is Back in Meme Form og:description: It's been 10 years since "Paper Planes" ruled airwaves, but now it has new life og:url: https://time.com/5346281/mia-paper-planes-memes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: M.I.A.'s Iconic Song 'Paper Planes' Is Back in Meme Form twitter:description: It's been 10 years since "Paper Planes" ruled airwaves, but now it has new life twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes' Is Back in Meme Form to Tell Us All Everybody Wants to Do > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 23, 2018 8:07 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 23, 2018 8:07 PM UTC Even though M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” was all a long time ago it’s now back in the spotlight, thanks to a meme circulating on Twitter that handily re-works its most iconic chorus lyrics. It’s been a decade since [British rapper M.I.A.](http://time.com/4408554/m-i-a-s-explosive-new-music-video-go-off-even-blows-the-cameras-away/)‘s hit song “Paper Planes” took the world by storm, ultimately getting certified [triple platinum](https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab%5Factive=default-award&ar=M.I.A.&ti=PAPER+PLANES) and getting a [Grammy nomination](https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/mathangi-maya-arulpragasam) for Record of the Year; created with the [contributions of](https://www.complex.com/music/2012/06/the-20-best-diplo-productions/) producers [Diplo](http://time.com/4800177/major-lazer-diplo-know-no-better/) and Switch, it even appeared on the [_Slumdog Millionaire_](http://time.com/4216226/world-travel-movies-2/item/slumdog-millionaire/) soundtrack and in the trailer to _Pineapple Express_. In the original, M.I.A. (real name: Mathangi Arulpragasam) sings: “All I wanna do is / Take your money,” the lines interspersed with the sounds of gunshots and a cash register’s bright ka-ching. But in the 2018 version, people are reconsidering what they _really_ want to do. Turns out, there’s a lot we desire other than taking other people’s money. For instance: live debt-free; take a nap; leave work early; witness the reunion of currently-defunct boy band One Direction. And so forth. While M.I.A. herself hasn’t weighed in on the song’s evolution in pop culture, she has been [promoting the release](https://twitter.com/MIAuniverse/status/1009460902029070342) of her new documentary on her journey from refugee to music star, out in September. > [](https://twitter.com/%5FAlexHirsch/status/1020121785705029632) > [](https://twitter.com/happyasaaron/status/1021234999742353410) > [](https://twitter.com/BellPupper/status/1020000388601262081) > [](https://twitter.com/TruthInsideLie/status/1020498061817262082) > [](https://twitter.com/sivansmiless/status/1021444054020698112) There was a more purposeful take. > [](https://twitter.com/LeBearGirdle/status/1021465389207900160) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5346281/mia-paper-planes-memes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5346281/mia-paper-planes-memes/"},"headline":"M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes' Is Back in Meme Form to Tell Us All Everybody Wants to Do","datePublished":"2018-07-23T20:07:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:53:59.319Z","description":"\"All I wanna do is...\"","url":"https://time.com/5346281/mia-paper-planes-memes/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Music","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5346281/mia-paper-planes-memes/","name":"M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes' Is Back in Meme Form to Tell Us All Everybody Wants to Do"}}]}] ```