--- 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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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=77f562d1-fedf-47fc-a4a6-def3fd097b10&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  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"}}]}] ```