Nena 99 Luft Ballons (In German - Neununtneunzig luft ballons)

Back


"99 Luftballons" is a Cold War-era protest song by the German band Nena. Originally sung in German, it was later re-recorded in English as "99 Red Balloons" While at a Rolling Stones concert in Berlin, Carlo Karges, the guitarist of Nena, 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. He thought about what might happen if they floated over the Berlin Wall to the Soviet sector. Both the English and German versions of the song tell a story of ninety-nine 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. Kevin McAlea wrote the English 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. 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.

Category: Music
Uploaded: October 11th, 2008 @ 11:00 am
Author: edsteroo

Length: 04:06
Rating: Whole StarWhole StarWhole StarWhole StarWhole Star
Views: 809

Tags: 10 99 ballons berlin cold communist dutsche east european excellent facists for german luft me nena song top wall war west

Related Video Links:


» View Video Comments For Nena 99 Luft Ballons (In German - Neununtneunzig luft ballons)
» View edsteroo's Other Uploaded Videos

Video Thumbnails:


Thumbnail #1 Video Thumbnail #1:
Thumbnail #2 Video Thumbnail #2:
Thumbnail #3 Video Thumbnail #3:


Video Embedding Code:


Video Url:


Embed Code:

* Embed this video on your website, social bookmark, myspace, or blog.