99 Luftballons (99 balloons) by Nena 1984 (Germany)

Germany, German, Songs, Lyrics, translated into English, Music
99 Luftballons (99 (air) balloons) by Nena 1984 (Germany)
Translation: Andre

Hast du etwas Zeit fuer mich
Have you some time for me,
dann singe ich ein Lied fuer dich
then I'll sing a song for you
von 99 Luftballons
about 99 balloons
auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont
on their way to the horizon.
Denkst du vielleicht g'rad an mich
If you're perhaps thinking about me right now
dann singe ich ein Lied fuer dich
then I'll sing a song for you
von 99 Luftballons
about 99 balloons
und dass sowas von sowas kommt (1)
and that such a thing comes from such a thing.

99 Luftballons
99 balloons
auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont
on their way to the horizon
Hielt man fuer Ufos aus dem All
People thought they're UFOs from space
darum schickte ein General
so a general sent up
'ne Fliegerstaffel hinterher
a fighter squadron after them
Alarm zu geben, wenn's so wär
To raise alarm if it (really) was the case (i.e. that effectively UFOs were coming)
dabei war'n da am Horizont
but there on the horizon were
nur 99 Luftballons
only 99 balloons.

99 Duesenjager
99 fighter jets
Jeder war ein grosser Krieger
Each one, a great warrior
hielten sich fuer Captain Kirk
thought they were Captain Kirk
das gab ein grosses Feuerwerk
[they] produced a kind of firework (by shooting a lot) (2)
Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft
the neighbors [neighbouring countries] didn't understand at all
und fuehlten sich gleich angemacht
and just felt provoked
dabei schoss man am Horizont auf 99 Luftballons
although [only] 99 ballons has been shot in the horizon

99 Kriegsminister
99 war ministers
Streichholz und Benzinkanister
matches and gasoline canisters
Hielten sich fuer schlaue Leute
They thought they were clever people
witterten schon fette Beute
already smelled a nice bounty
Riefen Krieg und wollten Macht
Called for war and wanted power
Mann, wer hatte das gedacht
Man, who would've thought
dass es einmal soweit kommt
that things would someday go so far
wegen 99 Luftballons
because of 99 balloons.

99 Jahre Krieg
99 years of war
Liessen keinen Platz fuer Sieger
left no room for victors
Kriegsminister gibt's nicht mehr
There are no more war ministers
und auch keine Duesenflieger
nor any jet fighters.
Heute zieh ich meine Runden
Today I'm walking around
Seh' die Welt in Truemmern liegen
see the world lying in ruins.
Hab' 'nen Luftballon gefunden
I found a balloon,
Denk' an dich und lass' ihn fliegen
think of you and let it fly (away).

(1) this is a fixed expression : "das kommt von sowas" - "this comes from something like that"; meaning more or less "and here's how it all came about" or "that's to explain how the story which you will hear in the song could emerge". Well, for sure it's not very deep and meaningful as expression, one must admit.
(2) it means here that there indeed was large-scale shooting going on. The translation does not convey this feeling, I think. ["das gab" -> "this resulted in"]

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