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It wasn't an anti-war song. It was an anti-Reagan song. BTW, a flock of geese being detected on radar in the 1950s did almost result in a war, fortunately people did not have quite the hair trigger they might have and cooler heads prevailed.
I was stationed in West Germany from '83 to '85. You couldn't turn on a radio, govt. run or AFN without hearing this every hour. The balloon reference struck a chord with service men and women because at the time, a common euphemism for the initiation of any hostilities was, "When the balloon goes up."
I’m Dutch and this song is also still popular in die Niederlände: ruclips.net/video/AOiiJk4yP80/видео.htmlsi=bZhZbu3TEqYBppm3 There was quite a lot of great songs from Germany back then. And some of those songs (including this one) are very up to date. No matter how happy it sounds, it’s about a devistating war, caused by a misinterpretation because of 99 balloons. Could happen now in Ukraine or Israel, for real. This video was recorded in the Netherlands in the town where I work.
@@erik5374 Also a popular song in Denmark, with most people just thinking of it as a happy tune. I know it is sometimes analysed in school here - specifically in German classes (German is the most common 3rd language here). Rammstein songs are also often analysed :)
She did a duet with Kim Wilde later on, "anyplace, anywhere, anytime" - in german, "irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann", well worth listening to. Nena sings in german and Kim in english.
Sorry this is bullshit. Ninety Nine is 3 syllables. neunundneunzig is 4 syllables. Balloon is 2 syllables. Luftballon is 3 syllables. Even adding red doesn't get it even its only because the zig is swallowed and not really a syllable that it works. Why do losers like you lie? How sad is your life?
"It's so funky yet it has a dark feeling" This is very common on 80's german "Neue deutsche Welle"-Music. The musicians often had "dark-themed" songs but wrapped it up in rather happy music.
This clip is actually shot on an army practice range in The Netherlands. There was no clip for this song so when they came to The Netherlands for the TV show Toppop the program director desided they needed some b-roll to acompany the live performance in the show. They set-up on this gunrange, added some smoke and the rest is history. Fits great with the story of the song.
The German lyric has a rhythm and metre that is completely missing from the English version. I’m proud to say that in Australia it was the German version that was the hit!
The last line in English starts with "I think of you." In the original German version the lyrics are "Denk' an dich" where "dich" is the singular "you". When Nena performs the song she changes it to "euch", which is the plural "you".
I (in USA) was a kid when this was released. It brings back tons of nostalgia. The song is great all around but for me, specifically, one of the main things I remember is that it was the first (that I can remember, at least) song in the 80s genres that I heard that was in German. Pretty much everything I had heard up until then had been in English (USA, UK, or other places but the songs lyrics I heard were in the English language) so I was pretty much oblivious that 80s music was literally 'happening' all over the world even in non-English speaking countries. It made me look for more German 80s music, in particular, which was fantastic.
In 1960, a song in German with the Austrian singer Lolita made it to number 5 in the US Billboard Hot 100: Seemann (deine Heimat ist das Meer) English: Sailor (Your Home is the Sea). See also English Wikipedia: Seemann (Lolita song).
59yo German here. Thanks a lot for this reaction and analysis. This song is one of the best pop pieces ever to come out of Germany and was certainly a part of my youth. Peace marches and the like were very much a thing in early 1980s West Germany, so this struck a chord with many of us. The YT channel "Professor of Rock" has an in-depth episode on this song. It is the best comparison between the German and the English version that I know of. Before Gabriele Kern AKA Nena became a pro musician and moved to West-Berlin, she was an aprentice goldsmith for a short while and as such attended classes at the same vocational college in Dortmund where I am now teaching plumbers and pipe fitters. Keep up the good work! Greetings from Germany!
I was in high school when Nena and Falco came on the scene. I remember translating this and Falco's Der Kommissar and loving every minute of it. Thanks, Beth for showing and reacting to the video!
This song played an important role in my life as if came out just before I decided to take German (and may have played a role in that decision). I went on to become a German major and study in Germany and even got to see Nena in concert. Thanks to Beth for doing such a great analysis. I'm proud to say this one was requested by me and then voted in by the other Patrons.
One of the few singers who when singing almost accapella (like the beginning and the end where it’s just her voice and single long keyboard notes) gives me goosebumps/chills. Even though she is singing in a different language to my own, I still get the emotional connection through her voice. I was lucky enough to see her live last year and she has just as an amazing voice live as she does on record.
I like this song so much!!! I listened it on radio, when I was young. I miss that time... It was a time with a future plenty of possibilities!!! I'm from Brazil and I would love more Brazilian musics, also...!!!
85 to 87 I was stationed in northern Germany and I saw this music video for the first time and it instantly became one of my favorite songs, the song was very much a possibility reality for me because It was during the middle of Cold War, I was in a combat unit and if the balloon went up all of Germany would have become one big battle field. I used to spend most of my weekends with Germans so when I heard the song, I understood enough German to understand the lyrics.
Every time I hear this song or see this video, ten year old me pops up in my mind and absolutely drools over this woman and her lovely voice. I still listen to this regularly. had/have such a huge crush on Nena
I think that because of the topic this became one of their most famous songs. Having listened to their other songs, several of them deserve an equal appreciation, alas hardly anyone has ever heard them.
Just about a month ago I heard Nena at an Open Air Festival. It was such a fanstastic performance, she seemed to really have fun doing it and her voice is still so very good.
As a new adult and newly on my own at the time when the song first came out, I caught the video on some music show (pre-MTV), I must say it was her looks that first attracted me, and her voicing that got me. As a Canadian I didn't know German at the time, and it did take some research to learn what the meaning was and that added to the allure of this band. Nena stayed true to their music and to German. At the time we were all still in deep cold war, it was there, it was in the movies (Bond and Bond-like movies), the us (west) vs them (east). Sadly now, we are back in the us vs them, but now we have leaders who never grew up in the cold war environment, never really educated themselves and are acting like children while lives and democracy are at stake. This song is again very relevant and I hope a reminder of the deadly seriousness of cold war. Thanks for the analysis of a favourite song of my young adult life.
In the Netherlands we had a similar song in 1984 called 'Over de Muur' from 'Klein Orkest' about the wall in Berlin, the divide East and West. I always found and still do the German original version of 99 luftballoons much more powerfull then the English version.
This song is amazing, so is the Nena Kerner´s career which is really solid and beautiful. I went to her concert in 2015 in Germany. She is amazing. Ich liebe Nena
There's technically one more syllable in neunundneunzig than in ninety-nine but she sings those words over the same notes. Red is there to fill the space of luft in luftballons which is one syllable more than balloons 😊
Yeah, I was just thinking that doesn’t actually even up the syllables, since it’s 7 syllables in German, and 6 syllables in English. Rather than just an extra word, it’s also maintained with a drawn out syllable, in the English version.
@@davidwoolbright3675 She literally says at 2:52: “Well, it’s because the German word for 99 has one more syllable than the word ninety-nine. So adding that word red in adds that extra syllable, so it makes it fit the song better." She even shows in a box on the left: 99 German: Neunundneunzig English: Ninety-nine
Thanks for a great job! It's not just about the singing, you reminded me that I have all the old vinyl records and several CDs of this band. It took years to understand that their music is multi-layered in so many ways, almost like a kaleidoscope... - and much better and deeper than the joyful and easy surface is presenting. Now I'm off to dig out some of the old records, refreshing my memory.... :-)
Heck - I was _part_ of it; in the USAF on a nuclear bomber base. Random weekly drills... when the alarms went off if we weren't otherwise engaged, we'd all turn and look to the alert pad full of armed and ready aircraft, and wait to see what they did. If they ever rolled off the pad and towards the runway, we would know that we had mere minutes left before the sub-launched cruise missiles came howling in over the Eastern horizon. We had a plan for that, too - it involved bottles of champaign, plastic cups and cheap sunglasses. We would lift a toast to the incoming missiles, because we wouldn't have time for anything else...
Yup. Enola Gay (by ELO), Russians (by Sting) and so on. OK, youngsters - so global warming is bad, but since I was born there have been several incidents (especially the Cuban missile crisis) that almost led to nuclear war. Even my first Dungeons & Dragons campaign was set in a post-Armageddon world, near a monster-infested wilderness that had once been London.
The story of the song had a happy ending. A few years later the wall came down, peacefully, and millions of people were liberated! May that happen again in troubled parts of our world.
I bought the album when it came out in the US in '84. Side 1 had English songs and side 2 German. What was so weird at the time is the German version of this song actually hit #2 on the US charts behind Van Halen's Jump.
@@eatsmylifeYT You might not be able to imagine, but there was a time when this was looked upon as incredibly sexy. After all, it meant she was a fully grown sexual being. Same with pubic hair. I’ve never understood what is sexy about looking like a child.
@@pigpen5305 You might not be able to imagine, but I don't give a rat's ass what you think. I've never understood why snowflakes like you have to cram their preferences down other people's throats.
Carlo was an inspired songwriter who wrote intelligent and thought provoking songs and aged 31 when he wrote the lyrics was far from being a scared and naive kid.
Oh this takes me back … I was 17 and working in Austria (scorching summer that year) this song always transports me back to that place (Grobming) and time … now listening to you from the West coast of Scotland ❤
Somehow the way Nena sings reminds me of the way Marlene Dietrich sings. Maybe it’s a combination of the airy voice and the way she delivers the words. Hearing Marlene Dietrich made me come to love the German language (when I was young Dutch people hated German, because WW II wasn’t long ago). I also really liked this song, because it gave me the same vibes, and Nena’s German is beautiful.
I remember the radio stations in Philadelphia used to play the English version as well as a version that combined English and German verses. Cover bands at bars used to cover this song still in the 2000's. They would use more distorted guitars to give it a more punk type of feel. This song was always one of my favorites from the 80's!
Thanks for the video and analysis. This song has been important to me for a long time as I've been a Nena fan since the 1980s. I took German in High School and this song and the other Neue Deutsche Welle songs that became popular were the only way to hear and practice German outside of class. In 1984, I traveled to Germany on a school trip and one of the areas we visited was the fenced/wired/mined Inter-German Border where we got to see US and East German observation posts watching each other. The last night of the trip was the start of the annual NATO REFORGER exercise and I remember US Army armored vehicle convoys going through the village I was staying in. That feeling of being on the edge of war was still very strong then. The end of the song strongly resonates with the German experience and memory of the end of WWII. "Ich seh' die Welt in Trümmern liegen" translates to "I see the world lying in ruins." Although also representing the destruction of Germany from the expected NATO-Soviet Third World War, "Trümmern" returns the image back to the ruins of German cities after WWII and the mythologized Trümmerfrauen (Rubble Women) who worked to clear the rubble after the war and during the rebuilding of Germany.
My favorite from that album are Nur Geträumt. Keyboard player Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen went on to record with Jean Beauvoir from Plasmatics in the band Voodoo X.
I saw Nena live in 2019,when she began singing this song-the audience went WILD! She is still an active artist,still singing,still looking smoking hot! I had a big crush on her when I was a teen and although I have always been a metalhead ,I am still in love.
Here in the US, the German version seemed more popular than the English, or at least for me. It just sounded catchier in German. Same with Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus", which I humbly ask you react to.
"Alles klar, Herr Kommissar!" Falco was so captivating with his Austrian accent and almost "staccato" singing. And then of course the classic _Major Tom_ by Peter Schilling. Trio, DÔF,...
@@lhplspecial vienna accent, decadent with cynical humor ! In Austria every region has his own accent or dialect. It is possible that two villages which are next to each other but separated by a mountain speak different dialects.
I was in high school when this song came out, and I was taking German class that year. I was thrilled that we got to dissect the lyrics to an actual Popular Song instead of to something that clueless teenage me thought was a bore (although I also still remember bits of Erlkönig). At the time, I thought it was amazing that they managed to get pretty decent English lyrics to the same tune! With no internet (obviously) and not a lot of sources in the US for info about European music, I had no idea what the band thought of the translation. Today, I still like the original! And the English translation. (And covers!) Ja, ich habe etwas Zeit für dich.
I was so excited when this came out. I was studying German in college. Nena (I always thought that was HER name) and Falco (Austrian) made studying German even more exciting. There really is a lot of amazing German/Austrian music. Thanks for giving us the origin of the song, too.
I remember when this song came out. (the German version even in the US) One thing that no matter what language she is singing in her voice is just so beautiful in it's own way. (I love her sound)
I speak almost no German but I still have their self-titled album on the loop I listen to while sleeping (with like 6 other albums) because of her voice and the vibe.
This song was released when I was 25. ( I do have the vinyl , German on one side, English on the other ) I too have heard the 2 versions you mention Beth. I have also found on RUclips a 2018 Live version, Gabriele sang the song, yet the whole arena sang along, it was fantastic. Today we woke up alive and breathing , as my friend ( R.I.P.) used to say. Have a good day :) Thanks for all you do.
In Mexico was a success this song in the german version, remember people singing it with no idea what we were singing about. The result of the success of this song, a Mexican pop band made a spanish version of it.
Nice. There is so much history in it. The keyboarder Jens Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen was in the Band of Jean Beauvoir, who was for two albums in the band of Steve Van Zandt's Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul . Steve himself is part of Bruce Springsteens E Street Band. Nena is or was a great star in Germany, I am unsure about that, 'cause she didn't deal great with the restrictions in the times of the pandemic, that was tough. You realize, it's just a song and so much more. That's culture, I guess.
I was 12/13 when this came out. We were stationed in Berlin, and The Wall was always a part of out lives. This was also still the Cold War period, and the threat of one side or the other hitting the button was possible. Great time to be alive !
I originally heard this German original as a teen. It might have been as part of some German rock festival broadcast in my not-German country, along with a lot of international artists/groups... When Nena's English language version actually got traction later, I was very happy for her! And I could assume that I'd actually understood the original lyrics... Of course, they had to change the original's perfect sound/rhythm for that. I still love the original German version best, and I still don't know German very well...
Nostalgia... I am French and the year of this song I did my military service in the French Forces in Germany, discovering this country... It was still the Cold War and this song reminds me of this very particular atmosphere. So much memories 🤩
You're proud of your album... And with good reasons. Beautiful singing, interesting lyrics, varied melodies and instrumentations, adult, mature music... And beautifully published, too. I'm really happy to own a copy. I like chapter 12 especially.
Loved it when it came out and still do! After the first 3 albums Nena disappeared from my radar....and most people's I guess, maybe except for Germany of course. But in recent years I bought quite a few of her later work and also the band's 4th album. Then in the 00's she did the duet with Kim Wilde.....omfg now that was pure fire!!! I still bang my head for not going to a concert of them 2 back then....my 2 earliest female singer favorites....and both hot AF!!!
after 3 Albums, I think Nena disappeared from anyone's radar but her hardcore fans. Still, she was the most successful of all the NDW people. I think no one else even caught the mainstream attention with three albums.
I've loved this song ever since it first came out... and I also love the many parodies that have been produced. Some are really hilarious. Here are some: "99 Dead Baboons" by Tim Cavanagh, "99 Death Eaters" by Draco and the Malfoys, "99 Words for Boob" by Robert Lund, "99 Words for Vagine" by Dan the Engineer, "99 Words for Peen" by JDI-310 Productions.
I was a young adult when this was released, and was a big fan of Nena. I would go to Newbury Comics in Boston and scour the imports to find any records they had of the band. Also got to see her in concert once and they were great. She had this big skull for a belt buckle. Now she performs with 2 or 3 of her children in her band. Good times.
A cold front is coming from Flowers After Rainfall! Freeze the Fall is the group she wants you to react to. She also suggests more of The Warning. New song is Automatic Sun.
Hehe - I came here to say this too! But I've always loved this song, and a big Beth Roars fan too! So Beth please yeah Freeze the Fall, "Daughters of Witches", if you could?? :)
I think the "red" in the English title stands for the "Luft" in the German one. "Balloon" in German ist "Luftballon", literally meaning "air balloon". So the missing "air" had to be replaced.
Nena had massive success during the years to follow this song. However, I saw her live in the late 90s when she was playing for free at local fairs and her career seemed to have come to an end. This only changed, when she reinvented herself doing remakes of her old hits (e.g. Kim Wilde -collab) and when in 2005 a German daily soap used one of her songs, she topped the German charts for first time since "99 Luftballons"...
I was familiar with the English version of this song from its time in the UK charts in 1984, it was only while on holiday in Europe in 1987 that I heard the German version for the first time.
It was interesting when this came out as the Cold War was still in full flower. I also happened to know German, so the lyrics resonated more with me than most others who were either hearing the English version or the also popular English/German pastiche. So many didn't get either the war or the hope allegory of this "Red Balloon" song because of this. (Then again, what singers sing and what people think they sing don't always match even if they speak the same language.)
I have fond memories of the song when I was a teen. Didn't know the meaning until many years later. She does a great job varying her vocals from an otherwise repetitive song. Of course back in the 80's most songs were meant to dance to at the club so makes sense the upbeat music and repetitive nature.
A lot of 80s Hits were, mostly unbeknown to the listeners, about the nuclear apocalypse: E.g. 99 Luftballons (Nena), Vamos a la playa (Righeira), Red Skies Over Paradise (Fisher-Z), Forever Young (Alphaville), The final countdown (Europe / to some extend), ... and all had pretty dancable soundtracks, while no one really listened to the dystopic lyris - or even sang along the chorus without realizing what they were singing...
Ninety-nine and Neunundneundzig are pretty the same length wenn sung or spoken, but the German word for balloon is Ballon and like you know from the title specially Luftballons (Balloon filled with air) so there is the word they put in to fill which became "red".
As a English speaker who doesn’t understand a word of German I will take the German version every single time. It’s light years better than the English version.
Growing up MTV had a habit of showing both versions. But the radio only played the English version. And this is the first time I've heard the German version in around 20 years
Gabrielle (Nena) is still performing, and performing this song as well as others from this period plus of course subsequent releases (in the German speaking world), because in the English world she is pretty much a one hit wonder. Of course her band has now included her own children. Actually saw her live in Concert in Germany in May 2011
Bravo on selecting the German version of this gem from the Post-Punk/New Wave era. How I miss the Punk/Post-Punk/New Wave/"College Music"/Alternative days. So much sonic ebullience and sullen beauty was generated. Danke for another fun review, Brüllende Löwin!
This song tickles a spot in my brain I didn’t know was there. Btw Nick Thurl Mavromatis has done it again! His new song is a masterpiece. React to it now!
1984, I was a junior high school student in Japan. I was crazy for her, Nena. What a cute girl she was!!! 99 Luftballons is germany national song for me.
I'm a litter younger, but was an MTV kid. Just turned five years old a few days before watching the Buggles air for the first time. So, I was still in the middle of grade school when this was released. I haven't seen this video in a long time, and I forgot just how absolutely gorgeous she was. A good pair of tight jeans and a little black leather certainly didn't hurt the overall aesthetic, either. What a beautiful voice, as well. Not an easy feat to make German sound so pretty, and she does it with ease.
Hi Beth, i'm here because "you've been warned" by Flowers after Rainfall! I know you already knows our girls of The Warning! I saw some reactions of yours to them! 😘
It's nice you mentioned they were a band and acknowledged who wrote the song as so often nowadays Nana the singer gets all the credit. The reason the band didn't like the English language version is because it missed the whole point of the original lyrics. Which was how a misunderstanding between neighbours (the jet fighters new full well they were just balloons but shot them down for the hell of it, the other side then miss interpreted this thinking they were under attack and so retaliated) lead to a nuclear war. Instead having the narrator being responsible for starting the war by releasing the balloons which were mistaken for missiles and not recounting a story to the listener.
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It wasn't an anti-war song. It was an anti-Reagan song. BTW, a flock of geese being detected on radar in the 1950s did almost result in a war, fortunately people did not have quite the hair trigger they might have and cooler heads prevailed.
I was stationed in West Germany from '83 to '85. You couldn't turn on a radio, govt. run or AFN without hearing this every hour. The balloon reference struck a chord with service men and women because at the time, a common euphemism for the initiation of any hostilities was, "When the balloon goes up."
I was at Wildenwrath in 84 and I know exactly what you mean (Not in forces, was touring playing Rugby)
Oh, wow, that's interesting!
a sort of Lili Marleen. Which has a fascinating story.
I was at Ray Barracks in Fridberg West Germany. Jan. 1983-June 1984.
@@davidmacey5422 nice!
I´m german and this song is still very popular in germany. I love your videos :) Your knowledge about this song/the time which it is about is great!
I’m Dutch and this song is also still popular in die Niederlände: ruclips.net/video/AOiiJk4yP80/видео.htmlsi=bZhZbu3TEqYBppm3
There was quite a lot of great songs from Germany back then.
And some of those songs (including this one) are very up to date.
No matter how happy it sounds, it’s about a devistating war, caused by a misinterpretation because of 99 balloons. Could happen now in Ukraine or Israel, for real.
This video was recorded in the Netherlands in the town where I work.
@willieboy3011 Focus is Dutch.
The singer is from very near the place the place where the video was shot.
I'm peruvian and this song is still so much popular here, You can hear it at least one time a day in every pop/rock radio station.
@@erik5374 Also a popular song in Denmark, with most people just thinking of it as a happy tune.
I know it is sometimes analysed in school here - specifically in German classes (German is the most common 3rd language here).
Rammstein songs are also often analysed :)
Kennt doch kein Schwanz mehr von der Jugend heute
She did a duet with Kim Wilde later on, "anyplace, anywhere, anytime" - in german, "irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann", well worth listening to. Nena sings in german and Kim in english.
Will be looking for that. I like them both. Thanks for the information, didn't know about that.
I was stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army in 1983 when this song came out. I still listen to this all the time.
Thank you for your service, must've been an interesting to be there.
@@jacket5456 please get your info correct (:
@Cassxowary All I said was thanks and "must've been interesting." What's incorrect? Was it not?
What a lovely knowledgeable analysis - as a German I'd like to say thank you, this song means a lot to me
99 in german and english are close enough actually. It was balloons vs luft-ballons (air-balloons) that didn't fit, so they made them red.
Sorry this is bullshit. Ninety Nine is 3 syllables. neunundneunzig is 4 syllables. Balloon is 2 syllables. Luftballon is 3 syllables. Even adding red doesn't get it even its only because the zig is swallowed and not really a syllable that it works. Why do losers like you lie? How sad is your life?
"It's so funky yet it has a dark feeling" This is very common on 80's german "Neue deutsche Welle"-Music. The musicians often had "dark-themed" songs but wrapped it up in rather happy music.
Not just the germans thou. Some of the Brits of the time - Joy Division/New Order did that a lot. Frankie Goes to HollyWood among a few others
This clip is actually shot on an army practice range in The Netherlands.
There was no clip for this song so when they came to The Netherlands for the TV show Toppop the program director desided they needed some b-roll to acompany the live performance in the show.
They set-up on this gunrange, added some smoke and the rest is history. Fits great with the story of the song.
The German lyric has a rhythm and metre that is completely missing from the English version. I’m proud to say that in Australia it was the German version that was the hit!
I'm German and I love to read that. :)
The same in New Zealand where it reached number 1 . It was only in the UK and Ireland that the English version charted higher.
In Brazil too...German version was a most predilect from radio lists...
The last line in English starts with "I think of you." In the original German version the lyrics are "Denk' an dich" where "dich" is the singular "you". When Nena performs the song she changes it to "euch", which is the plural "you".
That's beautiful. I think of you - as in all of you.
I was in high school when this came out. I love her voice. The NENA live album is amazing!
I (in USA) was a kid when this was released. It brings back tons of nostalgia. The song is great all around but for me, specifically, one of the main things I remember is that it was the first (that I can remember, at least) song in the 80s genres that I heard that was in German. Pretty much everything I had heard up until then had been in English (USA, UK, or other places but the songs lyrics I heard were in the English language) so I was pretty much oblivious that 80s music was literally 'happening' all over the world even in non-English speaking countries. It made me look for more German 80s music, in particular, which was fantastic.
Der Kommissar by Falco came out 3 years before in 1981. English version came out in 1983.
@@jimwiater2867 there was so much music translated and rewritten between German and English to reach a wider audience.
In 1960, a song in German with the Austrian singer Lolita made it to number 5 in the US Billboard Hot 100: Seemann (deine Heimat ist das Meer) English: Sailor (Your Home is the Sea). See also English Wikipedia: Seemann (Lolita song).
59yo German here. Thanks a lot for this reaction and analysis. This song is one of the best pop pieces ever to come out of Germany and was certainly a part of my youth. Peace marches and the like were very much a thing in early 1980s West Germany, so this struck a chord with many of us.
The YT channel "Professor of Rock" has an in-depth episode on this song. It is the best comparison between the German and the English version that I know of.
Before Gabriele Kern AKA Nena became a pro musician and moved to West-Berlin, she was an aprentice goldsmith for a short while and as such attended classes at the same vocational college in Dortmund where I am now teaching plumbers and pipe fitters.
Keep up the good work! Greetings from Germany!
This was a great era in German music.
I liked Völlig losgelöst and skandal im sperrbezirk even better.
@@erik5374 Yep. Lots of creativity and deliberate goofyness.
I was born in 83 and still remember joining peace marches, that song was my childhood anthem!
@@erik5374 "Völlig losgelöst" is "Major Tom" from Peter Schilling
i'm french, and same age. in the 80's, i loved this song and its message.
I was in high school when Nena and Falco came on the scene. I remember translating this and Falco's Der Kommissar and loving every minute of it.
Thanks, Beth for showing and reacting to the video!
always get goosebumps at the end. I think it is one of the most important songs of that time.
This song played an important role in my life as if came out just before I decided to take German (and may have played a role in that decision). I went on to become a German major and study in Germany and even got to see Nena in concert. Thanks to Beth for doing such a great analysis. I'm proud to say this one was requested by me and then voted in by the other Patrons.
👍👍
I also learned German because of this song.
I love her voice so much! It's like no other! Very unique and distinct! It's awesome!
One of the few singers who when singing almost accapella (like the beginning and the end where it’s just her voice and single long keyboard notes) gives me goosebumps/chills.
Even though she is singing in a different language to my own, I still get the emotional connection through her voice.
I was lucky enough to see her live last year and she has just as an amazing voice live as she does on record.
I like this song so much!!! I listened it on radio, when I was young. I miss that time... It was a time with a future plenty of possibilities!!! I'm from Brazil and I would love more Brazilian musics, also...!!!
Examples please.
@@LeperMessiah2
Oswaldo Montenegro: "Lua e Flor";
Ney Matogrosso: "Bandolero";
Kleiton & Kledir: "Vira-Virou";
Alceu Valença, Geraldo Azevedo, Elba Ramalho & Zé Ramalho: "Disparada";
Boca Livre: "Toada";
Renato Teixeira: "Amora".
85 to 87 I was stationed in northern Germany and I saw this music video for the first time and it instantly became one of my favorite songs, the song was very much a possibility reality for me because It was during the middle of Cold War, I was in a combat unit and if the balloon went up all of Germany would have become one big battle field. I used to spend most of my weekends with Germans so when I heard the song, I understood enough German to understand the lyrics.
Thanks!
Every time I hear this song or see this video, ten year old me pops up in my mind and absolutely drools over this woman and her lovely voice. I still listen to this regularly. had/have such a huge crush on Nena
Being born 1971 in Germany, this was one of the songs of my youth.
Therefore I will always feel connected with it.
I think that because of the topic this became one of their most famous songs. Having listened to their other songs, several of them deserve an equal appreciation, alas hardly anyone has ever heard them.
Just about a month ago I heard Nena at an Open Air Festival. It was such a fanstastic performance, she seemed to really have fun doing it and her voice is still so very good.
Nice to hear that, I'm going next week!
As a new adult and newly on my own at the time when the song first came out, I caught the video on some music show (pre-MTV), I must say it was her looks that first attracted me, and her voicing that got me. As a Canadian I didn't know German at the time, and it did take some research to learn what the meaning was and that added to the allure of this band. Nena stayed true to their music and to German. At the time we were all still in deep cold war, it was there, it was in the movies (Bond and Bond-like movies), the us (west) vs them (east). Sadly now, we are back in the us vs them, but now we have leaders who never grew up in the cold war environment, never really educated themselves and are acting like children while lives and democracy are at stake. This song is again very relevant and I hope a reminder of the deadly seriousness of cold war. Thanks for the analysis of a favourite song of my young adult life.
In the Netherlands we had a similar song in 1984 called 'Over de Muur' from 'Klein Orkest' about the wall in Berlin, the divide East and West.
I always found and still do the German original version of 99 luftballoons much more powerfull then the English version.
There is a great live version of this song on the Nena channel from a few years ago. She still has a beautiful voice and looks amazing.
Oh! This is a song from my early teens, and _I still love it_ so, so much.
This song is amazing, so is the Nena Kerner´s career which is really solid and beautiful. I went to her concert in 2015 in Germany. She is amazing. Ich liebe Nena
That thumbnail is pure gold.
😂 indeed
It looks like "The What / Rug Doctor Woman Ad" on Know Your Meme.
There's technically one more syllable in neunundneunzig than in ninety-nine but she sings those words over the same notes. Red is there to fill the space of luft in luftballons which is one syllable more than balloons 😊
Didn't she just explain that? 😅
@@huawafabe She said it was because 99 was longer in German and I said that it's actually because luftballons is longer. Pay attention
She said the word balloons in German is longer than in English so they added the word Red. Pay attention.
Yeah, I was just thinking that doesn’t actually even up the syllables, since it’s 7 syllables in German, and 6 syllables in English. Rather than just an extra word, it’s also maintained with a drawn out syllable, in the English version.
@@davidwoolbright3675 She literally says at 2:52: “Well, it’s because the German word for 99 has one more syllable than the word ninety-nine. So adding that word red in adds that extra syllable, so it makes it fit the song better."
She even shows in a box on the left:
99
German: Neunundneunzig
English: Ninety-nine
Thanks for a great job! It's not just about the singing, you reminded me that I have all the old vinyl records and several CDs of this band. It took years to understand that their music is multi-layered in so many ways, almost like a kaleidoscope... - and much better and deeper than the joyful and easy surface is presenting. Now I'm off to dig out some of the old records, refreshing my memory.... :-)
This was my favorite song when I was 7-8 yrs old..😂...Again when I was a teen. I just loved her voice.
I'm French, and young when this song came out in the 80's... i loved it, in german.
This is why absolutely nothing scares us aging GenXers. Even our pop songs were about nuclear Armageddon.
Heck - I was _part_ of it; in the USAF on a nuclear bomber base. Random weekly drills... when the alarms went off if we weren't otherwise engaged, we'd all turn and look to the alert pad full of armed and ready aircraft, and wait to see what they did. If they ever rolled off the pad and towards the runway, we would know that we had mere minutes left before the sub-launched cruise missiles came howling in over the Eastern horizon. We had a plan for that, too - it involved bottles of champaign, plastic cups and cheap sunglasses. We would lift a toast to the incoming missiles, because we wouldn't have time for anything else...
@@MrJest2 Respect.
Yep, another good one is "Forever Young" by Alphaville.
"Dancing With Tears in My Eyes" is also a good one. While it's not about nuclear war, it's about a nuclear disaster.
Yup. Enola Gay (by ELO), Russians (by Sting) and so on.
OK, youngsters - so global warming is bad, but since I was born there have been several incidents (especially the Cuban missile crisis) that almost led to nuclear war.
Even my first Dungeons & Dragons campaign was set in a post-Armageddon world, near a monster-infested wilderness that had once been London.
The story of the song had a happy ending. A few years later the wall came down, peacefully, and millions of people were liberated!
May that happen again in troubled parts of our world.
I remember seeing it on TV and how happy it was.
Yes, those were times of hope that things were turning to the better. May those come back! 🙏
And without use of weapons. The tanks waited around the demonstrating people. I was in front of my TV in these days and prayed that all would go well.
the people in east Germany liberated themselfes, details matter.
Fast forward 30 years and people are wanting USSR back in power
I bought the album when it came out in the US in '84. Side 1 had English songs and side 2 German. What was so weird at the time is the German version of this song actually hit #2 on the US charts behind Van Halen's Jump.
Every boy in my generation was in love with Nena
Gabriella, not Nena. That was the bands name. Also her hairy pits put most boys of the generation off
And her hairy armpits?
@@eatsmylifeYT You might not be able to imagine, but there was a time when this was looked upon as incredibly sexy. After all, it meant she was a fully grown sexual being. Same with pubic hair. I’ve never understood what is sexy about looking like a child.
@@pigpen5305 I've never understood why people like you have to shove their preferences down other people's throats.
@@pigpen5305 You might not be able to imagine, but I don't give a rat's ass what you think. I've never understood why snowflakes like you have to cram their preferences down other people's throats.
Great song! Reminds me so much of the 80's
Chills then tears then heartache, massively powerful song indeed.
Don't overstate it. It's just a cute song by some scared and naïve kids.
Carlo was an inspired songwriter who wrote intelligent and thought provoking songs and aged 31 when he wrote the lyrics was far from being a scared and naive kid.
Oh this takes me back … I was 17 and working in Austria (scorching summer that year) this song always transports me back to that place (Grobming) and time … now listening to you from the West coast of Scotland ❤
Somehow the way Nena sings reminds me of the way Marlene Dietrich sings. Maybe it’s a combination of the airy voice and the way she delivers the words.
Hearing Marlene Dietrich made me come to love the German language (when I was young Dutch people hated German, because WW II wasn’t long ago). I also really liked this song, because it gave me the same vibes, and Nena’s German is beautiful.
I didn't know that name of the artist nor the song.
Thank you so much !
Excellent video !
I only grew up with the english version on mtv way back. Of course i get it decades later but your take on it is what matters here.
(the group) Nena has made beautiful songs, for myself I think the song ''Leuchtturm'' is great.
I love Nena. I’ve been a fan for more than 40 years and I still go to her concerts.
Greetings from Denmark ☺️
m.ruclips.net/video/oIO5lfJ9dhs/видео.html&pp=ygUTbmVuYSA5OSBsdWZ0YmFsbG9ucw%3D%3D
I remember the radio stations in Philadelphia used to play the English version as well as a version that combined English and German verses. Cover bands at bars used to cover this song still in the 2000's. They would use more distorted guitars to give it a more punk type of feel. This song was always one of my favorites from the 80's!
Goldfinger did a kick ass cover of this. Matter of fact, that cover was the first time I had heard the song!
Thanks for the video and analysis. This song has been important to me for a long time as I've been a Nena fan since the 1980s. I took German in High School and this song and the other Neue Deutsche Welle songs that became popular were the only way to hear and practice German outside of class. In 1984, I traveled to Germany on a school trip and one of the areas we visited was the fenced/wired/mined Inter-German Border where we got to see US and East German observation posts watching each other. The last night of the trip was the start of the annual NATO REFORGER exercise and I remember US Army armored vehicle convoys going through the village I was staying in. That feeling of being on the edge of war was still very strong then. The end of the song strongly resonates with the German experience and memory of the end of WWII. "Ich seh' die Welt in Trümmern liegen" translates to "I see the world lying in ruins." Although also representing the destruction of Germany from the expected NATO-Soviet Third World War, "Trümmern" returns the image back to the ruins of German cities after WWII and the mythologized Trümmerfrauen (Rubble Women) who worked to clear the rubble after the war and during the rebuilding of Germany.
My favorite from that album are Nur Geträumt. Keyboard player Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen went on to record with Jean Beauvoir from Plasmatics in the band Voodoo X.
Susanne Kerner aka Nena is a fantastic Singer i´m german i hear her my whole Life on TV+ Radio 40+ Years
I saw Nena live in 2019,when she began singing this song-the audience went WILD! She is still an active artist,still singing,still looking smoking hot! I had a big crush on her when I was a teen and although I have always been a metalhead ,I am still in love.
Here in the US, the German version seemed more popular than the English, or at least for me. It just sounded catchier in German. Same with Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus", which I humbly ask you react to.
"Alles klar, Herr Kommissar!" Falco was so captivating with his Austrian accent and almost "staccato" singing.
And then of course the classic _Major Tom_ by Peter Schilling.
Trio, DÔF,...
Loved them and Peter Schilling, who had Major Tom around that same time
@@michaelmcfarland1716 Me too.
@@lhplgenuinely pretty sure Falco was the first white rapper.
@@lhplspecial vienna accent, decadent with cynical humor ! In Austria every region has his own accent or dialect. It is possible that two villages which are next to each other but separated by a mountain speak different dialects.
I was in high school when this song came out, and I was taking German class that year. I was thrilled that we got to dissect the lyrics to an actual Popular Song instead of to something that clueless teenage me thought was a bore (although I also still remember bits of Erlkönig). At the time, I thought it was amazing that they managed to get pretty decent English lyrics to the same tune! With no internet (obviously) and not a lot of sources in the US for info about European music, I had no idea what the band thought of the translation.
Today, I still like the original! And the English translation. (And covers!) Ja, ich habe etwas Zeit für dich.
oh my goodness, Erlkönig.
LOVE YOUR PASSION AND YOUR EMOTION love listening to your comments keep it up FROM DOWN UNDER
Loved the German Version when it was originally released, and still my favorite version of this song.
There was also a version with one verse in french. I loved this song in school discos.
I was so excited when this came out. I was studying German in college. Nena (I always thought that was HER name) and Falco (Austrian) made studying German even more exciting. There really is a lot of amazing German/Austrian music. Thanks for giving us the origin of the song, too.
I remember Nena was the nickname her parents used when she was young.
I remember when this song came out. (the German version even in the US) One thing that no matter what language she is singing in her voice is just so beautiful in it's own way. (I love her sound)
I speak almost no German but I still have their self-titled album on the loop I listen to while sleeping (with like 6 other albums) because of her voice and the vibe.
This song was released when I was 25. ( I do have the vinyl , German on one side, English on the other ) I too have heard the 2 versions you mention Beth. I have also found on RUclips a 2018 Live version, Gabriele sang the song, yet the whole arena sang along, it was fantastic. Today we woke up alive and breathing , as my friend ( R.I.P.) used to say. Have a good day :) Thanks for all you do.
In Mexico was a success this song in the german version, remember people singing it with no idea what we were singing about. The result of the success of this song, a Mexican pop band made a spanish version of it.
I love this NENA lady
Nice. There is so much history in it. The keyboarder Jens Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen was in the Band of Jean Beauvoir, who was for two albums in the band of Steve Van Zandt's Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul . Steve himself is part of Bruce Springsteens E Street Band. Nena is or was a great star in Germany, I am unsure about that, 'cause she didn't deal great with the restrictions in the times of the pandemic, that was tough. You realize, it's just a song and so much more. That's culture, I guess.
I was 12/13 when this came out. We were stationed in Berlin, and The Wall was always a part of out lives. This was also still the Cold War period, and the threat of one side or the other hitting the button was possible. Great time to be alive !
I originally heard this German original as a teen. It might have been as part of some German rock festival broadcast in my not-German country, along with a lot of international artists/groups... When Nena's English language version actually got traction later, I was very happy for her! And I could assume that I'd actually understood the original lyrics... Of course, they had to change the original's perfect sound/rhythm for that. I still love the original German version best, and I still don't know German very well...
Nostalgia... I am French and the year of this song I did my military service in the French Forces in Germany, discovering this country...
It was still the Cold War and this song reminds me of this very particular atmosphere. So much memories 🤩
You're proud of your album... And with good reasons. Beautiful singing, interesting lyrics, varied melodies and instrumentations, adult, mature music... And beautifully published, too. I'm really happy to own a copy. I like chapter 12 especially.
Loved it when it came out and still do!
After the first 3 albums Nena disappeared from my radar....and most people's I guess, maybe except for Germany of course. But in recent years I bought quite a few of her later work and also the band's 4th album.
Then in the 00's she did the duet with Kim Wilde.....omfg now that was pure fire!!! I still bang my head for not going to a concert of them 2 back then....my 2 earliest female singer favorites....and both hot AF!!!
after 3 Albums, I think Nena disappeared from anyone's radar but her hardcore fans. Still, she was the most successful of all the NDW people. I think no one else even caught the mainstream attention with three albums.
I was living in Germany when this song blew up. Loved it. I never cared for the English version. Gr8 analysis as usual. 🎶 🎸 🎶 🎹 🇩🇪
I've loved this song ever since it first came out... and I also love the many parodies that have been produced. Some are really hilarious. Here are some: "99 Dead Baboons" by Tim Cavanagh, "99 Death Eaters" by Draco and the Malfoys, "99 Words for Boob" by Robert Lund, "99 Words for Vagine" by Dan the Engineer, "99 Words for Peen" by JDI-310 Productions.
lmfao, the title and the facial reaction got me HAHAHA. Welcome back to the 80's!
I was a young adult when this was released, and was a big fan of Nena. I would go to Newbury Comics in Boston and scour the imports to find any records they had of the band. Also got to see her in concert once and they were great. She had this big skull for a belt buckle. Now she performs with 2 or 3 of her children in her band. Good times.
Beautiful lady, with a fantastic voice.
I was in elementary school when this song was released. It was the first song I could sing by heart.
Greetings from Munich
A cold front is coming from Flowers After Rainfall!
Freeze the Fall is the group she wants you to react to.
She also suggests more of The Warning. New song is Automatic Sun.
Hehe - I came here to say this too! But I've always loved this song, and a big Beth Roars fan too! So Beth please yeah Freeze the Fall, "Daughters of Witches", if you could?? :)
I think the "red" in the English title stands for the "Luft" in the German one. "Balloon" in German ist "Luftballon", literally meaning "air balloon". So the missing "air" had to be replaced.
Nena had massive success during the years to follow this song. However, I saw her live in the late 90s when she was playing for free at local fairs and her career seemed to have come to an end. This only changed, when she reinvented herself doing remakes of her old hits (e.g. Kim Wilde -collab) and when in 2005 a German daily soap used one of her songs, she topped the German charts for first time since "99 Luftballons"...
I was familiar with the English version of this song from its time in the UK charts in 1984, it was only while on holiday in Europe in 1987 that I heard the German version for the first time.
I always liked that song, I knew it in english when I was a child, hey! "Everyone is a Captain Kirk" like in
Star Trek 😃
It was interesting when this came out as the Cold War was still in full flower. I also happened to know German, so the lyrics resonated more with me than most others who were either hearing the English version or the also popular English/German pastiche. So many didn't get either the war or the hope allegory of this "Red Balloon" song because of this. (Then again, what singers sing and what people think they sing don't always match even if they speak the same language.)
I have fond memories of the song when I was a teen. Didn't know the meaning until many years later. She does a great job varying her vocals from an otherwise repetitive song. Of course back in the 80's most songs were meant to dance to at the club so makes sense the upbeat music and repetitive nature.
A lot of 80s Hits were, mostly unbeknown to the listeners, about the nuclear apocalypse: E.g. 99 Luftballons (Nena), Vamos a la playa (Righeira), Red Skies Over Paradise (Fisher-Z), Forever Young (Alphaville), The final countdown (Europe / to some extend), ... and all had pretty dancable soundtracks, while no one really listened to the dystopic lyris - or even sang along the chorus without realizing what they were singing...
Ninety-nine and Neunundneundzig are pretty the same length wenn sung or spoken, but the German word for balloon is Ballon and like you know from the title specially Luftballons (Balloon filled with air) so there is the word they put in to fill which became "red".
As a English speaker who doesn’t understand a word of German I will take the German version every single time. It’s light years better than the English version.
The synth sounds are so early '80s😊. It reminds me of the Swedish band Gyllende Tider, where Per Gessle was the lead singer before he started Roxette.
Ah 80's, best time ever
Carita de sol me gusta tus reacciones cuando nos transportas a diferentes épocas y estilos de música 🎵 gracias mi H Prrj ❤ bien Beth 👏👏🍀🍀
Growing up MTV had a habit of showing both versions. But the radio only played the English version. And this is the first time I've heard the German version in around 20 years
Gabrielle (Nena) is still performing, and performing this song as well as others from this period plus of course subsequent releases (in the German speaking world), because in the English world she is pretty much a one hit wonder. Of course her band has now included her own children. Actually saw her live in Concert in Germany in May 2011
I had the English version on 45 inch single, and had a mega crush on Nena. Also loved it as a keys player, the Goldfinger versions is very good too
Bravo on selecting the German version of this gem from the Post-Punk/New Wave era. How I miss the Punk/Post-Punk/New Wave/"College Music"/Alternative days. So much sonic ebullience and sullen beauty was generated.
Danke for another fun review, Brüllende Löwin!
This song was also covered by one of my favorite punk bands 7SECONDS.They did a great version.
This song tickles a spot in my brain I didn’t know was there. Btw Nick Thurl Mavromatis has done it again! His new song is a masterpiece. React to it now!
Thank you for educating people about this era. I was in 8th grade when the Berlin wall came down.
I love her voice! It's so sweet, feminine and mesmerizing.
1984, I was a junior high school student in Japan. I was crazy for her, Nena. What a cute girl she was!!! 99 Luftballons is germany national song for me.
I'm a litter younger, but was an MTV kid. Just turned five years old a few days before watching the Buggles air for the first time. So, I was still in the middle of grade school when this was released. I haven't seen this video in a long time, and I forgot just how absolutely gorgeous she was. A good pair of tight jeans and a little black leather certainly didn't hurt the overall aesthetic, either. What a beautiful voice, as well. Not an easy feat to make German sound so pretty, and she does it with ease.
Hi Beth, i'm here because "you've been warned" by Flowers after Rainfall! I know you already knows our girls of The Warning! I saw some reactions of yours to them! 😘
It's nice you mentioned they were a band and acknowledged who wrote the song as so often nowadays Nana the singer gets all the credit.
The reason the band didn't like the English language version is because it missed the whole point of the original lyrics. Which was how a misunderstanding between neighbours (the jet fighters new full well they were just balloons but shot them down for the hell of it, the other side then miss interpreted this thinking they were under attack and so retaliated) lead to a nuclear war. Instead having the narrator being responsible for starting the war by releasing the balloons which were mistaken for missiles and not recounting a story to the listener.