99 Luftballons
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| "99 Luftballons / 99 Red Balloons" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Nena | ||||||||||
| from the album Nena and 99 Luftballons | ||||||||||
| Released | 1983 (West Germany) 1984 (United Kingdom) |
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| Format | CD single | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||||||||
| Genre | Pop rock, Neue Deutsche Welle Synthrock Synthpop | |||||||||
| Length | 3:53 | |||||||||
| Label | EMI | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen (music) Carlo Karges (German lyrics) Kevin McAlea (English lyrics) |
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| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||||||||
| Nena singles chronology | ||||||||||
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| Music sample | ||||||||||
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"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".
"99 Luftballons" reached #1 in West Germany in 1983. In 1984, the original German version also peaked at #2 on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart and the English-language version topped the UK Singles Chart. The German version topped the Australian charts for five weeks and the New Zealand charts for one week.
When it made the charts in the United States, most US radio DJs incorrectly assumed that "99 Luftballons" translated to English as "99 Red Balloons" and spoke the number 99 in English, saying "Ninety-nine Luftballoons."
The translation of the title is sometimes given as "Ninety-Nine Air Balloons", however "Ninety-Nine Balloons" is also correct.[1][2] A Luftballon is a colourful toy balloon, rather than a balloon for transport or research. The name is derived from Luft, German for air, but the meaning of Luft does not qualify the type of balloon. The title "99 Red Balloons" almost scans correctly with the syllables falling in the right places within the rhythm of the first lines of lyrics, with "red" replacing "Luft". The only difference is the missing counterpart to the German syllable "-zig" in "Neunundneunzig".
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[edit] History of the song
While at a Rolling Stones concert in Berlin, Nena's guitarist Carlo Karges noticed that balloons were being released. As he watched them move toward the horizon, he noticed them shifting and changing shapes, where they looked nothing like a mass of balloons but some strange spacecraft. (The word in the German lyrics "UFO") He thought about what might happen if they floated over the Berlin Wall to the Soviet sector.[3]
Both the English and German versions of the song tell a story of 99 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.
Having achieved widespread success in Germanic Europe and Japan, plans were made for the band to take "99 Luftballons" international with an English version. Kevin McAlea wrote this version, titled "99 Red Balloons" (on an envelope, which he claims to still have), which has a more satirical tone than the original. The English version is not a direct translation of the German but contains a somewhat different set of lyrics.[4]
Nena recorded "99 Red Balloons" despite their dissatisfaction with the lyrics, which they expressed in numerous magazine interviews in 1984. They, as with many of their fans, felt that the English rendition was not true to the meaning of its German original.
The song came during a period of escalating rhetoric and strategic maneuvering between the United States and the Soviet Union in the Cold War. In particular, its international chart success followed the United States deployment of Pershing II missiles in West Germany in January 1984 (in response to the Soviet deployment of new SS-20 nuclear missiles), which prompted protests across western Europe. The following month, Nena topped the UK Singles Chart with "99 Red Balloons" for three weeks, starting in 28 February 1984. Unusually, in the United States the German version was more successful, charting at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. On March 26, 1984, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipment of over 500,000 copies. "99 Luftballons" became the first German-language record to reach the top ten on the US charts since "Sailor (Your Home Is the Sea)" by Lolita in 1961. Although the German version was the hit version in America, both the German and English versions receive radio airplay in the United States today.
Nena never had another hit single outside Continental Europe and Japan, and therefore, is considered to be a very successful one-hit wonder artist in both the U.S. and the UK. Channel 4 placed "99 Red Balloons" at #2 in their countdown of the 50 Greatest One Hit Wonders, while VH1 placed it at #16 on 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s. VH1 also put it at #73 on VH1's 100 greatest songs of the 80's.
VH1 Classic, an American cable television station, ran a charity event for Hurricane Katrina relief in 2006. Viewers who made donations were allowed to choose which music videos the station would play. One viewer donated $35,000 for the right to program an entire hour and requested continuous play of Nena's "99 Luftballons" and "99 Red Balloons" videos for an entire hour. The station broadcast the videos as requested from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EST on March 26, 2006.[5] Nena again recorded the song in 2009, with two verses in French.
[edit] Music video
The original video for the song was filmed during a live concert at Quartier Latin in Berlin. The second version was filmed at Harskamp, a Dutch military base. In this video, Nena wanders alone through fields and walks across a plank during overcast, foggy daytime scenes, before joining the band on a small, black platform for a nighttime scene that features explosions and balloons popping. To achieve this, soldiers at Harskamp who were on hand shot at the balloons as they were released. At the end of the video, Nena is seen alone at night walking in between backlit trees. She picks up a balloon and playfully bounces it into the air.
When the English version of "99 Luftballons" was recorded and released, the two German videos were mixed together to create a new video.
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (1983/4) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 1 |
| Austria | 1 |
| Canada | 1 |
| Germany | 1 |
| Ireland | 1 |
| The Netherlands | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| Norway | 4 |
| Sweden | 1 |
| Switzerland | 1 |
| UK | 1 |
| US | 2 |
[edit] Cover versions
The song has been covered by numerous bands, including 7 Seconds, Desolation Yes, Five Iron Frenzy, Goldfinger, Siobhan DuVall, Angry Salad, Reel Big Fish and Draco and the Malfoys, DDR, and is a show staple. In German it was covered by Beat Crusaders and by Goldfinger in English with a German verse. The German verse in the song is actually the next to last verse in the original German version, and it replaces the next to last verse in the English version (one involving Captain Kirk). However, in Sony Computer Entertainment's Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec the song is sung in full English, including the Captain Kirk verse.
The latter cover was featured in several films, including Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Not Another Teen Movie (2001), and Eurotrip (2004) as well as during various competitions in Nickelodeon's television movie Rocket Power: Race Across New Zealand (2002). The song was also used during an episode of Gilmore Girls called "Dear Emily and Richard", when Lorelai Gilmore arrives at the hospital. Van Nuys covered it for the My Name Is Earl soundtrack.
Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine have also covered the song on their I'd Like a Virgin 2004 album; this version actually contains gibberish lyrics sung in a pseudo-German accent in lieu of German lyrics, stopping almost immediately after the song begins, cutting in with "alright, that sucked...". Ellen ten Damme included part of the song in her cover of Sag mir wo die Blumen sind, the German translation of Pete Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?". A version in Japanese called 99 Love Balloons was released by Nakanomori Band on their March 2008 album ELECTRIC GIRL. French singer Alizee performed live cover during her "Psychédélices" tour in Moscow, Russia on May 18, 2008. She sang in English.
[edit] Remixes, remakes and samples
John Forté remade "99 Luftballons" in to "Ninety Nine (Flash The Message.)" on his 1998 Poly Sci album.
Special D used a sample of this song on his song "Here I Am."
A portion of this song is in "Hooked on Polkas", a "Weird Al" Yankovic polka medley.
A sample of the music is also used in the 2008 track "Stunned Out" by Paula DeAnda featuring Young Joc.
Scarface used the melody in his song "Goin' Down" from his 1994 album "The Diary."
[edit] Film and TV appearances
The song was used in the 1997 movie Boogie Nights.
The song is featured in the 2008 movie My Best Friend's Girl.
The song is featured in the 2009 movie Watchmen.
The Goldfinger version of the song was used in Mary-Kate and Ashley film "Our Lips Are Sealed" in the scene filmed at Luna Park in Sydney, Australia.
In The Wedding Singer Julia Sullivan is listening, and singing along, to the German version on her headphones when Glen (her fiancé) surprises her with a bouquet of roses and plane tickets to Las Vegas.
In The Gilmore Girls episode "Dear Emily and Richard", teenage Lorelei listens to the song in the hospital waiting room before giving birth to Rory.
A sample of the song, is featured in the Scrubs's episode, "My Interpretation", during one of JD's fantasies where he dances with German people in a hospital room full of red balloons.
The song was used in the pilot episode of My Name is Earl when Earl first realizes the character of Kenny is gay.
In Grosse Pointe Blank, the song is played at the 10 year high school reunion when Martin Blank and Paul are disposing of the hitman's dead body.
[edit] Other media references
In 30 Rock, Liz Lemon sings a sample of the German lyrics to Kenneth Parcell as an alleged lullaby her German grandmother used to sing to her.
A reference is made in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories for PSP and PS2 with 99 red balloons hidden around the city.
Dr. Demento featured a song "99 dead baboons" on his show, sung by Tim Cavanaugh.
Wizard rock band Draco and the Malfoys sings a parody of the song called "99 Deatheaters" at many of their performances.
On The Simpsons, Homer Simpson sings the song (in German) for European backpackers when he and Marge turn their home into a youth hostel in order to pay for Bart's "fat camp" treatments in the 16th season episode "The Heartbroke Kid."
A reference is made in the Family Guy episode "Road to Germany" where the Nazi officers mention 100 luftballons as their new secret weapon followed by one popping.
In the TV series, "Psych" episode "Rob-a-Bye Baby", this song is played in the background while Shawn falsely proposes to Juliet.
[edit] References
- ^ "The New English-German Dictionary: "Luftballon"". http://www.iee.et.tu-dresden.de/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/wernerr/search.sh?string=luftballon&nocase=on&hits=50. Retrieved on 2007-06-02. "balloon -- der Luftballon"
- ^ "The New English-German Dictionary: "Balloon"". http://www.iee.et.tu-dresden.de/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/wernerr/search.sh?string=balloon&nocase=on&hits=50. Retrieved on 2007-06-02. "balloon -- der Ballon, balloon -- der Luftballon"
- ^ Rolling Stone, March 15, 1984
- ^ 99 Luftballons, Side by Side Comparison, inthe80s.com. Article retrieved 2007-03-04.
- ^ VH1 Classic to Air the Classic 80s Music Video '99 Luftballons' for an Entire Hour on Sunday, March 26, VH1 Classic, 2006 (published March 22, 2006), http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/03-22-2006/0004325268&EDATE, retrieved on 2007-07-05
