Nena - 99 Red Balloons - Lyrics Meaning

The song 99 Red Balloons was recorded by the German singer Nena and released in the United States in 1983.

99 Red Balloons is the English translation of the German versions, "99Luftballoons", or "toy" balloons. The idea came to Nena's guitarist Carlo Cargas while he was at a Rolling Stones concert in Berlin. While a bunch of balloons floated away, he thought they looked more like some type of aircraft rather than a bunch of balloons. He imagined what might happen if those balloons flew over the wall and entered East Berlin, which was Soviet territory from 1945 until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. 99 Red Balloons is a protest song from the days of the Cold War.

In the first verse of the song, the balloons are set free, then detected by the military. They spring into action and attack because they think the balloons are going to hurt them. They cause panic everywhere over the "intruders". In the English translation, it almost sound as if the generals have been anxiously awaiting to wage a war.

In the last verse, the singer is walking around the ruins of what was once a city and finds a balloon to remind her of what took place.