99 Luftballons

99 Luftballons

“99 Luftballons” is a song by the German band Nena from their 1983 self-titled album. An English-language version titled “99 Red Balloons” was also released on the album. In the US, the English- language version did not chart, while the German-language recording became Nena’s only US hit.

About 99 Luftballons in brief

Summary 99 Luftballons“99 Luftballons” is a song by the German NDW band Nena from their 1983 self-titled album. An English-language version titled “99 Red Balloons” was also released on the album. The English version is not a direct translation of the German original and contains lyrics with a somewhat different meaning. In the US, the English- language version did not chart, while the German-language recording became Nena’s only US hit. There have been two re-recordings of the original German version of the song that have been released by Nena: a modern ballad version, which was included on Nena feat. Nena, and a 2009 rendition, which originally aired as an animated video on the European Arte channel and included some portions of the French text.

The French text was later formally released on a 2010 Best of Nena compilation; however, the French language text was omitted from the compilation. A special edit combined the English and German versions of thesong was played on American Top 40 with Kasem Kasem for the week of March 24, 1984. The song became known in English as \”Ninety-Nine Red Balloon\”. The lyrics of theOriginal German version tell a story: 99 balloons are set free and are mistaken for UFOs, causing a general to send pilots to investigate.