NENA - 99 Red Balloons

Nena's iconic 1983 hit, "99 Luftballons" (German for "99 Balloons"), later released in English as "99 Red Balloons," emerged from the Cold War anxieties of the early 1980s. The song's inspiration struck guitarist Carlo Karges during a Rolling Stones concert in West Berlin in 1982, when he observed balloons being released and drifting towards the Berlin Wall. He pondered how such an innocent act could be misinterpreted as an aerial threat by military forces on the other side, potentially escalating into a conflict. This concept formed the basis of the song's narrative, which depicts 99 balloons being mistaken for UFOs, triggering a disproportionate military response that ultimately leads to a devastating war. The song quickly became a global phenomenon, topping charts in several countries and reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the most successful non-English language tracks in US history. Its anti-war message resonated deeply with audiences worldwide, cementing its place as a powerful political statement and a timeless pop classic.

NENA 99 Red Balloons Lyrics

You and I, and 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, "Some thing's out there"
Floating in the summer sky
Ninety-nine red balloons go by

Ninety-nine red balloons
Floating in the summer sky
Panic lads, it's a 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
Ninety-nine red balloons go by

Ninety-nine Decision Street
Ninety-nine ministers meet
To worry, worry, super-scurry
Call the troops out in a hurry

This is what we've waiting for
This is it boys, this is war
The President is on the line
As ninety-nine red balloons go by

Ninety-nine knights of the air
Riding super high-tech jet fighters
Everyone's a super hero
Everyone's a Captain Kirk

With orders to identify, to clarify and classify
Scrambling in the summer sky
As ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine red balloons go by

Ninety-nine dreams I have had
Every one a red balloon
Now it's all over and I'm standin' pretty
In this dust that was a city

If I could find a souvenir
Just to prove the world was here
And here is a red balloon
I think of you and let it go