"99 Luftballons" is an anti-nuclear protest song by the German band Nena from their 1983
self-titled album.
An English version titled "99 Red Balloons" written by Kevin McAlea was also released
after widespread success of the original in Europe and Japan.
The English version is not a direct translation of the German and contains a somewhat different
set of lyrics.
Background and writing While at a June 1982 concert by the Rolling
Stones in West Berlin, Nena's guitarist Carlo Karges noticed that balloons were being released.
As he watched them move toward the horizon, he noticed them shifting and changing shapes,
where they looked like strange spacecraft.
He thought about what might happen if they floated over the Berlin Wall to the Soviet
sector.
Etymology The translation of the title is sometimes
given as "Ninety-Nine Air Balloons"; however, "Ninety-Nine Balloons" is more accurate.
A Luftballon is a colourful toy balloon, rather than a balloon for transport or research.
The name is derived from Luft, German for "air", but the meaning of Luft as a noun does
not qualify the type of balloon; however, as an adjective meaning "aerial" resulting
in an understanding of "airborne balloons."
The title "99 Red Balloons" almost scans correctly with the syllables falling in the right places
within the rhythm of the first lines of lyrics, with "red" replacing "Luft"; the only difference
is that neunundneunzig has one syllable more than "ninety-nine".
Plot A bag's worth of helium balloons are casually
released by an anonymous civilian into the sky and are registered as missiles by a faulty
early warning system; mistaken for an attack, it results in panic and eventually nuclear
war.
Re-recordings and cover versions There have been two re-recordings of the song
released by Nena: a modern version in 2002 which was included on Nena feat.
Nena and a retro-sounding one in 2009, the latter of which includes some verses recorded
in French.
7 Seconds, an American hardcore punk band, covered the song on their third album Walk
Together, Rock Together in 1985.
Angry Salad released a version of the song on their 1998 album Bizarre Gardening Accident.
Their version also appears on their 1999 self-titled album.
A cover of the song was recorded by the band Goldfinger in 2000 for the album Stomping
Ground, and gained popularity after featuring in the film EuroTrip.
South African band Southern Gypsey Queen released a cover of the song in 2011.
Japanese pop singer Yoko Oginome released a cover of the song for the album Dear Pop
Singer released on 20 August 2014.
Reception American and Australian audiences preferred
the original German version, which became one of the most successful non-English songs
in US history when it topped the Cash Box Top 100 chart and reached no.
2 on the Billboard Hot 100, behind "Jump" by Van Halen.
It was certified Gold by the RIAA.
The later-released English translation, "99 Red Balloons", topped the charts in the UK,
Canada and Ireland.
VH1 Classic, an American cable television station, ran a charity event for Hurricane
Katrina relief in 2006.
Viewers who made donations were allowed to choose which music videos the station would
play.
One viewer donated $35,000 for the right to program an entire hour and requested continuous
play of Nena's "99 Luftballons" and "99 Red Balloons" videos.
The station broadcast the videos as requested from 2:00 to 3:00pm EST on 26 March 2006.
Chart positions German version
English version 2002 re-release
In popular culture The song was used in the soundtrack of various
TV series episodes, movies and videos games.
The TV episodes are from such US series as My Name Is Earl, Gilmore Girls, Scrubs, The
Simpsons and Girls.
It also appeared in the Argentinean TV series Guapas.
The movies include Grosse Pointe Blank, Boogie Nights, The Wedding Singer, My Best Friend's
Girl, Not Another Teen Movie, Watchmen, EuroTrip, Mr. Nobody, Filth and Hell.
The video games include Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, Donkey
Konga, Just Dance 2014 and Lazy Jones.
See also Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet early-warning system
operator who in 1983 disregarded a false nuclear attack alarm and may have prevented a nuclear
war.
List of anti-war songs References