99 Red Balloons Artist: Nena
You and I in a little toy shop
Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got
Set them free at the break of dawn
Til one by one, they were gone
Back at base bugs in the software
Flash the message, something's out there
Floating in the summer sky
99 red balloons go by
99 red balloons
Floating in the summer sky
Panic bells it's red alert
There's something here from somewhere else
The war machine springs to life
Opens up one eager eye
Focusing it on the sky as 99 red balloons go by
99 Decision street
99 ministers meet
To worry, worry, super flurry
Call the troops out in a hurry
This is what we've waited for
This is it boys, this is war
The president is on the line
As 99 red balloons go by
99 knights of the air
Ride super high tech jet fighters
Everyone's a super hero
Everyone's a Captain Kirk
With orders to identify
To clarify, and classify
Scramble in the summer sky
99 red balloons go by
99 dreams I have had
In every one a red balloon
It's all over and I'm standing pretty
In this dust that was a city
If I could find a souvenir
Just to prove the world was here
And here is a red balloon
I think of you, and let it go
99 Luftballoons (99 Red Balloons) was originally released in German (1983) and re-released in English (1984). The English version had mixed success on the charts across the world, perhaps due to the poor conversion/translation.
However a more direct translation of the German lyrics shows that while the overall meaning was generally kept the same, a lot of the imagery was lost. Many English speakers still prefer the German version since the English version is a little less rythmic and appears to be forced.
German Version:
Hast du etwas Zeit fur mich
Dann singe ich ein Lied fur dich
Von 99 Luftballons
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont
Denkst du vielleicht g' rad an mich
Dann singe ich ein Lied fur dich
Von 99 Luftballons
Und dass sowas von sowas kommt
99 Luftballons
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont
Hilet man fur Ufos aus dem All
Darum schickte ein General
'Ne Fliegerstafell hinterher
Alarm zu geben, wenn' s si war
Dabei war' n da am Horizont
Nur 99 Luftballons
99 Dusenjager
Jeder war ein grosser Krieger
Hielten zich fur Captain Kirk
Das gab ein grosses Feuerwerk
Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft
Und fuhlten sucg gleich angemacht
Dabei schoss man am Horizont
Auf 99 Luftballons
99 Kriegsminister
Streichholz und Benzinkanister
Hielten sich fur schlaue Leute
Witterten schon fette Beute
Riefen: Kring und wollten Macht
mann, wer hatte das gedacht
Dass es einmal soweit kommt
Wegen 99 Luftballons
99 Jahre Krieg
Liessen keine Platz fur Sieger
Kriegsminister gibt' s nicht mehr
Und auch keine Dusenflieger
Heute zieh ich meine Runden
Seh' die Welt in Trummern liegen
Hab' 'nen Luftballon gefunden
Denk' an dich und lass' ihn fliegen
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