Well I was wondering because on more than one occasion I have heard jokes, sayings and such about "99 red balloons" and I'm wondering what it really means? Like on family guy they had 100 balloons and popped 1...? All I know is its a song by goldfinger..
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 Ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine 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 ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine decisions treat Ninety-nine ministers meet To worry, worry, super scurry Call out the troops now in a hurry This is what we've waited for This is it, boys, this is war The President is on the line As ninety-nine red balloons go by
Neunundneunzig Kriegsminister Streichholz und Benzinkanister Hielten sich f�r schlaue Leute Witterten schon fette Beute Riefen: Krieg und wollten Macht Mann, wer h�tte das gedacht? Da� es einmal so weit kommt Wegen neunundneunzig Luftballons Neunundneunzig Luftballons
Ninety-nine dreams I have had And every one a red balloon It's all over, and I'm standing pretty In the dust that was a city I could find a souvenir Just to prove the world was here Here it is, a red balloon I think of you and let it go
Aw, lilt, it's no fun in English... So I found the German text. It's faulty, because AG don't display special characters, such as a-umlaut and those... Yeah.
Hast du etwas Zeit fur mich Dann singe ich ein Lied fur dich Von neunundneunzig Luftballons Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont Denkst du vielleicht g'rad an mich Singe ich ein Lied fur dich Von neunundneunzig Luftballons Und das so was von sowas kommt
Neunundneunzig Luftballons Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont Hielt Man fur Ufos aus dem All Darum schickte ein General 'Ne Fliegerstaffel hinterher Alarm zu geben, wenn's so war Dabei war'n da am Horizont Nur neunundneunzig Luftballons
Neunundneunzig Dusenflieger Jeder war ein groser Krieger Hielten sich fur Captain Kirk Das gab ein groses Feuerwerk Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft Und fuhlten sich gleich angemacht Dabei schos man am Horizont Auf neunundneunzig Luftballons
Neunundneunzig Kriegsminister Streichholz und Benzinkanister Hielten sich fur schlaue Leute Witterten schon fette Beute Riefen "Krieg!" und wollten Macht Mann, wer hatte das gedacht Das es einmal so weit kommt Wegen neunundneunzig Luftballons Wegen neunundneunzig Luftballons Neunundneunzig Luftballons
Neunundneunzig Jahre Krieg Liesen keinen 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 las' ihn fliegen
That's actually probably the only German I have ever really wanted to be able to understand.
Alright now, what it really means... Well, it's about someone releasing 99 balloons, for fun, and the balloons drift off and end up causing a war... I guess there's a certain irony to it, but I can't remember any of the analyzing we did in class...
"99 Luftballons" is a Cold War-era protest song by the German singer Nena. Originally sung in German, it was later re-recorded in English as "99 Red Balloons".
You should go listen to the song, it's actually pretty good. Understanding German obviously makes it a better experience, but I think it's still worth listening to either way~
Oh, and quotes from youtube users who looks like they know what they're talking about:
Both the English and German versions of the song tell a story of ninety-nine balloons floating into the air, triggering an apocalyptic overreaction by military forces. The music was composed by Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, the keyboardist of Nena's band, while Karges wrote the original German lyrics. Kevin McAlea wrote the English version, titled "99 Red Balloons". The English version is not a direct translation of the German but contains a somewhat different set of lyrics.
When they wrote the song in english they had to think of another adjective to use because if she just said balon in german it would mean blimp, luftbalon means balloon. Since they didnt have to do that in english they used red to keep the rythem of the song. And the english version isnt a direct translation because words that might rhyme in german might not rhyme in english and vice versa.
Sorry for double posting, just figured it was worth mentioning.
Oh yes, the horror of translations that tries to fit the rhythm and tune, not the text... My German isn't good enough, otherwise I would have made a direct translation myself. If you get the time for making such a translation, I would actually appreciate it.
Funny how different it is from the English version. I guess that's what happens when people decide to be creative to get the rhythm to fit. >_> But thank you, Cenere!
