German vs English: Why 99 Luftballons Completely Changed in Translation

40 Years after its release 99 Luftballons is still making headlines. Just recently, pop superstar Dua Lipa surprised her fans in Hamburg by singing a German cover of the song live on stage. She even introduced it in German and honestly, her accent wasn’t too bad! That moment reminded the world just how iconic this song really is, and how it connects across languages and generations.

In today’s lesson, we’re going to compare the German original, 99 Luftballons by Nena, with the English version, 99 Red Balloons. Spoiler Alert: the two aren’t simple translations. They actually tell very different stories.

Why the English Version is NOT a Translation

Before we get into the actual lyrics of the song, it is important to know the English version was never meant to be a direct translation. The band wanted to keep the rhythm and singability first, so the lyrics were rewritten by Kevin McAlea, who wasn’t part of Nena. Even the band later admitted the song “loses something” in translation.

Verse-by-Verse Comparison

Below, we'll look at how the story, tone and themes change between the versions.

Verse 1: Setting the Scene

Already in the first verse of the song, there is a wide disparity in the lyrics. In fact, the entire setup of the song in this verse is changed. Let’s compare them side-by-side.

German Version

Hast du etwas Zeit für mich? -
Do you have some time for me?

Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich. -
Then I will sing a song for you

Von 99 Luftballons -
About 99 balloons

Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont -
On their way to the horizon.

Denkst du vielleicht grad an mich? -
Are you thinking about me right now?

Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich -
Then I will sing you a song

Von 99 Luftballons -
About 99 balloons

Und, dass sowas von sowas kommt -
And how one thing leads to another.

Notice we don’t know who let the balloons go. We don’t know why they are going towards the horizon. We are simply told, here is a song about some balloons floating upwards.

English Version

You and I in a little toy shop -
Du und ich in einem kleinen Spielzeugladen

Buy a bag of balloons with the money we’ve got -
kaufen eine Tasche voller Ballons mit dem Geld, das wir haben

Set them free at the break of dawn -
lassen sie bei Tagesanbruch los

‘Til one by one, they were gone. -
bis einer nach dem anderen sind sie alle weg.

Back at base, bugs in the software -
Zurück im Stützpunkt, Fehler in der Software

Flash the message, "Something's out there!" -
Leuchte die Nachricht auf, “Etwas ist da draußen!”

Floating in the summer sky -
Im Sommerhimmel schweben

99 red balloons go by -
99 rote Ballons vorbei.

This clearly has the speaker being the one who released the balloons. It sounds like the singer and their friend just bought some balloons on a whim and decided to let them all loose when the sun came up. The problem is caused by a bug in some software, which is never mentioned in the German song at all.

Verse 2: First Contact

German

99 Luftballons -
99 balloons

Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont -
On their way to the horizon

Hielt man für Ufos aus dem All -
someone thought they were UFOs from outer space

Darum schickte ein General -
That’s why a general sent

‘ne Fliegerstaffel hinterher -
a flight squadron

Alarm zu geben, wenn’s so wär -
To set off an alarm, if it were so

Dabei war’n dort am Horizont -
But there were just on the horizon

Nur 99 Luftballons -
Just 99 balloons.

The military didn’t know what they were and thought maybe they were UFOs. So they sent some jets up to find out what was going on, but it was just balloons. Let’s see what the English has to say.

English

99 red balloons -
99 rote Ballons

Floating in the summer sky -
Schweben im Sommerhimmel

Panic bells, it’s red alert! -
Panikalarm, es ist Alarmstufe Rot!

There’s something here from somewhere else. -
Es gibt hier ‘was von irgendwo anders.

The war machine springs to life -
Die Kriegsmaschine wird zum Leben erwacht

Opens up one eager eye -
Und öffnet ein scharfes Auge

Focusing it on the sky -
richtet es auf den Himmel

When 99 red balloons go by. -
als 99 rote Ballons vorbeifliegen.

The German version seems relatively innocent. They don’t know what’s up there so they send some jets to investigate. In the English version, it is immediately seen as a threat of some kind and they use words like “war machine” and “red alert”. The phrasing and the intensity of the English makes this much more of a political song than the German version did at this point.

Don’t get me wrong, they are both very much anti-war songs, but the English version really takes it up a notch in this area.

Verse 3: Escalation

German

99 Düsenflieger -
99 jet planes

Jeder war ein großer Krieger -
Every one a great warrior.

Hielten sich für Captain Kirk -
Thought they were Captain Kirk.

Es gab ein großes Feuerwerk. -
There was a large fireworks display.

Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft -
The neighbors didn’t understand

Und fühlten sich gleich angemacht. -
And felt immediately attacked.

Dabei schoss man am Horizont -
Someone shot in the horizon

Auf 99 Luftballons -
At 99 balloons.

When you send people who were trained for war to check something out, anything can be an enemy. The text here says that each of the pilots were great warriors and they thought they were Captain Kirk. They made a show of force and fired at the balloons.

It doesn’t specify who the neighbors are in the song directly, but considering this was written in Germany in 1983, it is safe to assume that they mean one side is the east and one is the west.

When one starts firing near the other one’s airspace, it could very easily become a firefight between the two sides.

English

99 Decision Street -
99 Entscheidungs-Straße

99 ministers meet -
treffen sich 99 Minister

To worry, worry, super-scurry -
um viel Sorge zu machen und herumzuschwirren.

Call the troops out in a hurry -
Ruf die Soldaten in großer Eile

This is what we've waited for -
Das ist worauf wir gewartet haben.

This is it, boys, this is war -
Das ist es, Jungs. Das ist Krieg.

The president is on the line -
Der Präsident ist am Apparat

As 99 red balloons go by -
Als 99 rote Ballons vorbeifliegen.

There is a similar thought process here and for those of you upset that there is no Star Trek reference in the English one, they simply moved it to the next verse instead. The English version is a bit heavy handed again. It states right out that the soldiers wanted to experience war. They were almost excited about it. While it is implied in the German version, the English really slaps you in the face with how obvious they make the lyrics.

Verse 4: Motivation Behind War

German

99 Kriegsminister -
99 ministers of war

Streichholz und Benzinkanister -
Match and gas can

Hielten sich für schlaue Leute -
They thought they were smart people

Witterten schon fette Beute -
sensed a booty (as in a pirate’s prize)

Riefen: „Krieg!“, und wollten Macht -
Called: “War!” and wanted power.

Mann, wer hätte das gedacht? -
Man, who would have thought?

Dass es einmal so weit kommt -
That it would come this far

Wegen 99 Luftballons -
Because of 99 balloons.

Now we get into the motivations for the conflict in the German version. It wasn’t the soldiers that wanted to start the war. They just got carried away in the moment, but the ministers of war saw an opportunity to seize power and gain something from this. They jumped at the opportunity to go to war and further their own interests.

I find this to be much more plausible than the English version. The soldiers I know don’t want to start wars and will do everything in their power to avoid a war. When it comes to politicians, military officers and the like, they are much more eager to start wars.

English

99 knights of the air -
99 Ritter der Luft

Ride super high-tech jet fighters -
Fliegen Hightech-Düsenflieger

Everyone's a superhero -
Jeder ist ein Superheld

Everyone's a "Captain Kirk" -
Jeder ist ein “Captain Kirk”.

With orders to identify -
Mit Befehlen zu identifizieren

To clarify and classify -
aufzuklären und klassifizieren

Scramble in the summer sky -
fliegen einen Soforteinsatz

As 99 red balloons go by -
Als 99 rote Luftballons vorbeifliegen.

Honestly, this verse in English just sounds like someone writing an essay trying to hit their word count. It is pretty close to what they said in the previous English verse.

We are still talking about the jet fighters and what they are doing. We aren’t really adding anything here. The only thing that is actually new in this verse confuses the entire message of the lyrics so far.

Now they are just supposed to “identify, clarify and classify”. Their orders are to not engage. But it sounded like they were about to fire in the previous verse. I really dislike this verse, as it adds nothing and confuses the message.

Final Verse: Aftermath

The last verse of both versions is much softer and not nearly as upbeat. It makes sense once you get into the German lyrics.

German

99 Jahre Krieg -
99 years of war

Ließen keinen Platz für Sieger -
left no place for winners

Kriegsminister gibt's nicht mehr -
There are no ministers of war anymore

Und auch keine Düsenflieger -
And also no jet fighters.

Heute zieh' ich meine Runden -
Today I go for a walk

Seh' die Welt in Trümmern liegen -
see the world lying in ruin.

Hab' 'n Luftballon gefunden -
I found a balloon.

Denk' an dich und lass' ihn fliegen -
Think of you and let it go.

So the war rages for 99 years. No one wins. Everything is destroyed. And in a melancholic bit of serendipity the singer finds a balloon and lets it fly. What does the English have to say?

English

99 dreams I have had -
99 Träume habe ich gehabt.

In every one, a red balloon -
In jedem ein roter Ballon.

It's all over and I'm standin' pretty -
Es ist alles vorbei und ich stehe schön

In this dust that was a city -
In dem Staub, wo mal eine Stadt war

If I could find a souvenir -
Wenn ich nur ein Souvenir finden könnte

Just to prove the world was here -
Nur zu zeigen, dass die Welt mal hier war

And here is a red balloon -
Und hier ist es, ein roter Ballon

I think of you, and let it go -
Ich denke an dich und lass ihn fliegen.

This version doesn’t tell us how long the war lasted, but it does say that this city was at least destroyed. They are walking through the rubble and looking for something to prove that there used to be people here.

Somehow there is a red balloon and they think of the person they addressed at the beginning of the song and release the balloon. The thing that started it all, the thing that haunts the dreams of the singer, is the only thing left after it all.

Two Songs, Not Two Version

I don’t believe you can call these two songs different versions of the same song. The story they tell and the message they convey are so vastly different that they are really different songs.

Ironically I don’t actually dislike the English version. I just don’t think it is Nena’s song. This is probably why I like Goldfinger’s version so much better. When they sing the English version in their punk rock style, it just makes sense. They are railing against the war machine and the people in charge far removed from the conflict making decisions that will cause the deaths of countless people all so they can have more money, more land, and more power.

The German version is more about how the tensions between countries can cause small things to boil over into giant conflicts. It is about the way people interact with people in the moment.

If one person had a cooler head in the German version of the song, the war would have been avoided and the world would have been saved. The German version keeps the humanity in war at the top of your mind, while the English version keeps the war in humanity at the top.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts on the differences between 99 Luftballons and 99 Red Balloons, which I hope you can see through my explanation are not really the same song.

Click here to see Dua Lipa sing 99 Luftballons

Click here for the Goldfinger version of the English song

Click here for the original German version by Nena.

Click here for the English song sung by Nena.