#protest singers (ironically because I'd argue that the original german lyrics‚ in which the responding fighter jets realise they are
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Infinite list of favourite lyrics: 206/?
Nena - 99 Red Balloons (1984)
"Ninety-nine dreams I have had:
In every one, a red balloon.
It's all over and I'm standing 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..."
#favourite lyrics#99 red balloons#99 luftballons#nena#1983#1984#Uwe Fahrenkrog Petersen#Carlo Karges#Kevin McAlea#originally released in '83 on Nena's self titled debut album‚ 99 Luftballons was famously one of the most successful foreign language#singles on the US charts; the english language version‚ released the following year‚ was unappreciated there but topped the charts here in#the uk. McAlea's new lyrics are not a direct translation but rather a poetic set of lines along a similar theme with emphasis on scanning#rather than truly replicating the original; Nena weren't especially impressed and felt something had been lost from their original#ironically‚ Nena herself suggested the band were uneasy with the blatant anti war message as the band didn't wish to be seen necessarily as#protest singers (ironically because I'd argue that the original german lyrics‚ in which the responding fighter jets realise they are#responding to nothing more than balloons but decide to put on a display of their fire power‚ ultimately triggering a devastating war‚ is#imo more critical of military response than the english version‚ in which the balloons remain unidentified and the war can be described as#accidental). regardless. an anti war anthem it became‚ particularly as Germany (and the Berlin wall) came to symbolise the end of the cold#war (no comment). my german isn't what it was and i know the english version better but i like McAlea's lyrics#he captures something of a childlike innocence in the narrator which only underscores the horror of what develops#he did keep the final line of the original ('I think of you and let it go') having recognised a damn good mic drop when he heard one
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