Very cool song.

You've got to be kidding.

Yeah...I kinda like this one.

"99 Luftballons" ("99 Red Ballons") was originally released as part of the german band "Nena"'s 1981 european market album, "Nena". Featuring the cynical, edgy vocals of lead singer, Gabriele Susanne Kerner (aka Nena..yes, it was redundant) and a raw, unpolished club/garage sound, the (german language) song was a fine offering from the West German Green Wave/Punk scene. Fate placed a copy of the groups album in the hands of a prominent California (USA) DJ who subsequently helped to promote the band in the US radio market. An english language version was later produced and offered a slightly refined production. The song's companion video initially received limited air-play until MTV added it to their programming. "99 Luftballons" ("99 Red Ballons") was a cleverly sarcastic political statement wrapped in an appealingly naive musical box and was well in-step with its point origin (West Germany/Europe) and timeframe (very early 1980's and the Pershing Missile controversies). That rare synthesis of art and opinion was rewarded in the great success both versions of the song and the videos enjoyed internationally.

I love it in german but in english $%^*%@

A song in German (i.e. "99 Luftballons") is probably destined to be a one hit wonder in the States. (The English version did not chart.) As other reviews have noted, this single was a Reagan era anti-nuke song and an early MTV staple; however, the song has not aged well, primarily due to its dated break and the Cold War theme. "99 Luftballoons" spent 13 weeks on the U.S. charts in 1984, peaking at #2. The only decent cover I've heard is by Goldfinger (punk).

do not like this song. it reminds me of a boring movie i watched when i was a kid about a boy who chased a balloon in europe somewhere. boring movie.

So over played at the time and not exactly one of the greatest songs ever written. Such as the great lyrics, "every ones a captain Kirk." What the heck does that mean and what does it have to do with red balloons.

isn't this supposed to be 99 luftballoons? at any rate, this song has a catchy beat and is a signature 80's song, although at first no one understood what it was about!

I got a little more out of it when I heard the translated version. Pretty good anti-nuclear song.

First couple of times I heard it, I thought it was great. It's not a song that's aged particularly well. Still okay, but nowhere near the best the 80's had to offer.

Or 99 luftballoons in it's homeland of Germany. When the german version of this song was widely played across america most thought it was just a silly little song about balloons, but this was actually a serious fable about nuclear war (and a warning not to let off balloons in public areas). Interesting