99 Luftballons (99 Red Balloons) was originally released in German (1983) and re-released in English (1984) by the artist Nena (born Gabriele Susanne Kerner in 1960). Widely regarded as a One-Hit-Wonder, Nena had other successes in her native German market, but nothing came close to the worldwide attention generated by 99 Luftballons. Even 30 years after its release, the song remains fixed in pop-culture.The English version had mixed success on the charts across the world, perhaps due to the conversion/translation. The original German lyric version made it to number 2 in the United States (and 28th most popular for the year) while the English release hit number one in the UK (and came in 15th most popular for the year) . In some markets, the single was double-sided with the English lyrics on one side and the German version on the other.
Below are both sets of lyrics: note that this is not 1980-89’s translation, it is simply how the 99 Luftballons lyrics were released in both languages by Nena (the song was never released as a direct translation). However comparing the German lyrics to the English version 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. To see the background of how the English lyrics for 99 Luftballons were created, see our interview with Kevin McAlea.
As a side note, the band Goldfinger released 99 Luftballons on its 1997 EP, ‘Darrin’s Coconut Ass,’ but it was saved for the album ‘Stomping Ground’ (released 2000). In an odd development, the band incorporated lyrics from both the English and German versions. 99 Luftballons has been covered by other artists and featured in some TVs shows such as Scrubs.
Lyrics
| 99 Luftballons Lyrics Hast Du etwas Zeit für mich Dann singe ich ein Lied fuer Dich Von 99 Luftballons Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont Denkst Du vielleicht grad’ an mich Dann singe ich ein Lied fuer Dich Von 99 Luftballons Und dass sowas von sowas kommt |