SLS: Red Balloons

Posted on January 29, 2023 | 21 Comments
Red balloons sky

Jim continues his Song Lyric Sunday series with the prompt of New Wave. One of my favorites from this genre is Nena’s “99 Red Balloons” (1983). The band is German and the song/album was originally recorded in German, but I’m sharing the English version today. These lyrics were written by Kevin McAlea and are not a direct translation.

You and I in 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, sparks in the software
Flash the message “Something’s out there”
Floating in the summer sky
99 red balloons go by

The song hit No. 1 in many countries, and in the US it peaked at No. 2 on Billboard Hot 100. It is considered a one-hit wonder in the US, but the band has had many other hits in Europe. Their name is the nickname of their singer Gabriele “Nena” Kerner. All info is from Wikipedia.

99 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

~*~
©️2023 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.

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21 responses to “SLS: Red Balloons”

  1. Maggie | January 29, 2023 at 6:05 am |

    I always enjoyed this song and the angelic quality of her voice.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. lifelessons | January 29, 2023 at 6:22 am |

    I’ve never heard it before. Very zippy. Love the video. Lots of spirit there.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. lifelessons | January 29, 2023 at 6:24 am |

    And I love the photo.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Suzette Benjamin | January 29, 2023 at 6:25 am |

    Lovely song. I remember it fondly. Great choice, Paula. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. ghostmmnc | January 29, 2023 at 6:48 am |

    I always liked this song. Sounds so pretty. But, I listened to the original version in German, and it’s so totally different. It’s about war, and how people jump to conclusions and start conspiracies and start shooting with little knowledge. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  6. newepicauthor | January 29, 2023 at 6:51 am |

    This is a really fub song, Paula. Thanks for selecting this and balloons are not just for kids. Nena let’s all of these go for fun. Then they show up on the radar as unidentified objects and both sides of Berlin scramble planes and go to full alert to counteract a perceived nuclear attack, which is ridiculously funny. At the end of the song, she just wants to prove that the German people did have dreams by finding one balloon. When she finds it, she lets it go.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Sydney Stone | January 29, 2023 at 9:06 am |

    My grandmother grew up in Germany during WWII. I remember near the end of her life we were walking and a plane flew over and she said whenever she saw planes overhead her mind always went back to her youth and the allied bombers flying by, never knowing if it was her town that would be the target. This song always makes me think of that.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Luftmentsch | January 29, 2023 at 9:31 am |

    I like this song. On my (mental) list of “songs that sound upbeat, but are really dark if you listen to the lyrics.”

    Liked by 1 person

  9. John Holton | January 29, 2023 at 12:02 pm |

    The song’s a classic!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Bridgette | January 30, 2023 at 9:11 am |

    I’ve always loved this song, but didn’t realize at all what it was about until I became an adult. A heavy song with a light beat.

    Liked by 1 person