Nena - 99 Luftballons | The Story Behind The Song

Nena - 99 Luftballons | The Story Behind The Song | Top 2000 a gogo

Рет қаралды 66,687

Top 2000 a gogo

Ай бұрын

This interview is in German with Dutch subtitles. Singer Nena talks about her hit '99 Luftballons' ('99 Red Balloons').
A short documentary by Top 2000 a gogo from 2023 (Dutch Public Television).

Пікірлер: 156

@djboo-lee7147 Ай бұрын

I made a transcription in English for those who speak German nor Dutch. :) So much fun to be here. I haven’t been to the Netherlands that often, but I’m impressed. Can you understand me ? You all speak German ? “Do you have some time for me ? Then I’ll sing a song for you About 99 balloons On their way to the horizon Think about me for a moment Then I’ll sing a song for you About 99 balloons And where they can lead to” We were all at a Rolling Stones concert in Berlin. At the end of the concert Mick Jagger released a lot of balloons. They flew into the air. The Berlin Wall was still there back then. Then Carlo thought: “They fly over the Wall. Imagine someone takes that the wrong way.” Then he went home and wrote that song. It came to him. It’s a story about a misunderstanding that causes a war. “99 balloons on their way to the horizon Were seen as UFO’s from the universe So a general sent planes to them To raise the alarm if they were But on the horizon were only 99 balloons.” Then our record company said they did not want to release it as a single because it didn’t have a chorus. They said it was not commercial enough. “99 battle planes, all war machines They thought they were Captain Kirk Then there was a big fireworks The neighbours didn’t understand it and felt provoked So they shot at the horizon at 99 balloons” Then we were called by a Dutch TV show. They asked us to come play the song. We didn’t realize it was going to be on a military training ground. Bombs were exploding around us. That was a very special experience. Explosions all around us. The cool thing was that MTV heard about the song one way or another. They only just existed. They were going to air the music video. And the success became bigger and bigger. “99 war ministers, matches and petrol cans They thought they were going to be rich And have a big loot They declared war and wanted power. Man, who would have thought that It all started with 99 balloons” Maybe you know KROQ, the famous radio station from LA. The boss of the station was Rodney Bingenheimer, a famous radio DJ. A lot of famous bands came to the station: The Ramones, David Bowie, Blondie. All big names. And Christiane F. She had written a book and traveled around the world to promote it. And she always took records from Germany with her. When she was with Rodney in the show to tell about the book, she gave our record to him and said: “Listen to it”. He listened to it and thought it was fantastic. He played it six or eight times in his show. Other radio stations did the same and it caused a snow ball effect. The record company got nervous and said to us: “We've got to make an English version as soon as possible!” It all went so fast. The German version had already sold a million copies. I can’t recall exactly. It was a small miracle anyway. The emotion that this song causes musically and lyrically arose at that Stones concert. And I believe we now live in an age where mankind is going through a big turning point. And that people are worrying about war and that they don’t look away anymore. “After 99 years of war There are no longer any winners Ant here are no more war ministers And no more fighter planes” I believe that this time we’re really learning something because we’re living in a time where we can no longer hide. We must show our true colours so that these things can no longer happen en that there will be peace. That’s what I believe in. It may be naive, I don’t care.That’s my opinion and attitude in life. (Side note: Christiane F was a young girl that got to addicted to heroin in the late 70's in Berlin and hung out at the Zoo railway station there. She wrote the book “Christiane F, we the kids from the Zoo station” that became very famous. There was also a successful movie made based on the book, including songs by David Bowie).

@thenerktwins Ай бұрын

Beautiful. Thanks!

@ichwerdegelesen Ай бұрын

One addition to the transcription above: the radio DJ in Los Angeles, Mr Bingenheimer, took so much liking of the song he played it six to eight times a day! Otherwise, your transcripties was great! Thanks therefore, for your time and effort!

@sie4431 Ай бұрын

She went from saying they didn't have a chorus to filming the music video in the Netherlands, or did they mean they didn't think the chorus was good enough?

@ichwerdegelesen Ай бұрын

@@sie4431 She said her record company turned this song down, at first. Since it lacked a chorus and therefore a structure. Their record label said the song therefore did not sound sufficiently structured in order to become a commercially successful hit!

@sie4431 Ай бұрын

@@ichwerdegelesen I understand but then the sort jumps from that to making the music video and leaves that whole part out

@geerwashere Ай бұрын

Na 41 jaar weet ik pas wat de tekst inhoud, geeft ineens een nog diepere band met dit mooie nummer dan ik al had..gaaf!

@kiereluurs1243 Ай бұрын

Nog steeds een lekker ding. Des te meer.

@ScyllaWyrm Ай бұрын

Die ondertitels voegen wel wat toe voor mensen die denken dat ze Duits kunnen maar die nooit de songtekst hebben gelezen, zoals ik. Het kwartje valt nu pas.

@djverhulst Ай бұрын

mavo Duits is wel genoeg hoor

@PetrikNZ Ай бұрын

Ik moet nu de Engelse versie opnieuw vinden en zien hoe deze zich verhoudt. Ik ben in Nederland geboren, dus ik kon de ondertitels lezen. Nu ik die teksten ken, en geen Duits ken, zou ik graag willen zien hoe de Engelse vertaling zich verhoudt. Tekst vertaald via Google, Engels naar Nederlands aangezien ik het kan lezen, maar typen/schrijven is moeilijk.

@mvdbos6210 Ай бұрын

Er zitten echter wel wat foutjes in

@kiereluurs1243 Ай бұрын

Slechte vertaling af en toe. Maar wel dat ik in combinatie met het verhaal voor het eerst bewust naar de tekst kijk.

@DutchNostalgia Ай бұрын

Mijn probleem met duits is niet zo zeer het niet kunnen, het is meer songteksten verstaan, de zinnen gaan soms zo snel dat ik er iets anders uit maak.

@peterhaagen8506 Ай бұрын

Wow. Een echt vredes lied nooit echt beseft. Wat een aangename en warme stem en vrouw . ❤

@franspan9872 Ай бұрын

Warme stem en mooie vrouw, nog steeds. En ze is al begin 60. Voor mij geld hetzelfde met de tekst van het lied.

@moow950 Ай бұрын

Love Nena!!!!!! Back in the 80s and still now!

@wimvanlaethem1816 Ай бұрын

Danke vielmals, Nena !🎙🎼🎊 Ooo zoveel nostalgie naar onze boeiende '80-er jaren waarin we onze onbezorgde tienerjaren mochten beleven. Onze kamer vol posters met onze idolen. Geen internet, onze favoriete muziek overtapend van onze radio-cassette op onze BASF-cassetjes tot ze grijsgedraaid waren. Idem dito met onze vinyl lp's ... Hier vanuit muziekstad Wenen stuur ik 99 liebe Grüße aus Wien. Vanwege een 54-jarige Belgische nostalgicus "Wim Wien".🎼🎶🇦🇹❣️

@JeroenPluimers Ай бұрын

Onbezorgd niet, want ondanks de Détente vn de jaren 70, in het begin (hallo inval Afghanistan door de USSR resulterend beleid van Reagan) weer volop koude oorlog die vanaf 1985 (hallo Gorbatschow) verminderde (hallo Mauerfall 1989 en opvolgende val van diverse regimes in het Oostblok). Wel mooi en divers decennium qua muziek, ik denk juist ook door die enorme wisseling in maatschappelijke dynamiek plus de popprogramma's Top Pop, Countdown, Popformule en later Sky Channel en vooral MTV.

@rattus3102 Ай бұрын

Als ik die oude nummers hoor van de jaren 70/80 is het alsof ik in een tijdmachine ben gestapt....ik ga gelijk met mijn gedachten 40 of 50 jaar terug....😊♥️ Mooie tijd, maar het ging o zo snel voorbij....😟

@drizer4real 8 күн бұрын

I was so much in love with Nena when I was a kid in the Eighties, always danced in the room when this song was played on Dutch radio🥰

@IrnBruNYC Ай бұрын

I understood some of this because I speak a little German. (German viewers, please correct me if I am wrong!) I think Nena says that the genesis of the idea came from a Rolling Stones concert she attended where at the end of the show, hundreds of balloons were sent off into the sky. She also talks about how the song was not considered "commercial" because it doesn't really have a chorus (just that extremely catchy synth riff, followed by that other extremely catchy synth riff). Then she talks about how it became a hit in America: it happened because of the writer Christiane F., whose book was made in a movie called "Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo" (We children from Zoo [Subway] Station - the same Zoo Station U2 sang about!). She was visiting America (to promote the English translation of the book) and stopped by influential radio station KROQ. She brought with her a bunch of records from Germany, and one of the records she shared with the DJ there was 99 Luftballoons. After KROQ played the song 8-10 times, other stations started picking it up, which led to the recording of the English language version. She then talks about the anti-war message of the song.

@hermannus3894 Ай бұрын

And the balloons flying to east-Berlin and then a bandmember said "what if they, the East German goverment, mis-interpreted it. Then he went home and wrote the song.

@osiris5315 Ай бұрын

Ik ben geen fan van duitse zang, maar dit nummer klinkt nergens naar in het Engels. Deze hoort gewoon Duits te zijn 😊

@markschattefor6997 26 күн бұрын

Ben het half met je eens, de Engelse versie is overbodige nonsens. Wellicht maakt het verschil dat ik in de jaren 60/70 ben opgegroeid in een grensplaats en Duits heb geleerd als kind via TV kijken.

@osiris5315 26 күн бұрын

@@markschattefor6997 denk het wel, want ik val ook precies in die categorie :)

@user-yn6jx6mj3t Ай бұрын

Amazing, after all these years! Love the song, the lyrics, and the meaning/message!

@larsaf3 Ай бұрын

Ich habe die Stones 1982 in Hanover gesehen, im Fußballstadion, von etwa fünf Reihen von der Bûhne entfernt. Dass allerdings die Luftballons im Bühnenshow der Stones die Inspiration für "99 Luftballons" gebildet hatten war mir bis heute nicht bewusst gewesen, bis ich das Interview mit Nena hier hörte.

@freqenc 13 күн бұрын

It was the song playing in KROQ when I was designated driver for my friend Paulie. Harry C's in Rubidoux, Ca. in 1992.

@DemocracyVanguard Ай бұрын

Prachtig verhaal en in zowel Duits als Engels een prachtige plaat!❤

@sternenweg2012 Ай бұрын

Great Person, Most authentic Woman in the world. I Love her Shows, she s so beautiful and her Last Album LICHT ist very good.

@simonemira7744 Ай бұрын

Nena ist die Beste!!! Danke fürs teilen

@Anson120 Ай бұрын

Nena looks even better now! wawa wee wa.

@josvanzetten Ай бұрын

Begin jaren '80. Ik was als kanonnenvoer gelegerd in Duitsland en was verliefd op Nena. Maar ook op Blondie. En op Nina Hagen. Uiteindelijk een Amsterdamse schone aan de haak geslagen en hebben al ruim 20 jaar een dochter met de naam Nina, wij twijfelden tussen de naam Nena en Nina, mijn vrouw heeft de discussie gewonnen 🙂

@CA999 Ай бұрын

Wow... Nena still looks hot! 😊

@ajdc88 Ай бұрын

why does she still look so good?

@mardiffv.8775 Ай бұрын

Who cares? Nena still look stunning. Wow!

@kiereluurs1243 Ай бұрын

You mean HOW.

@kiereluurs1243 Ай бұрын

Beauty is independent of age...

@rattus3102 Ай бұрын

Maybe no drugs and gallons of alcohol? 🤔

@steoneste 22 күн бұрын

She's an angel

@loveisthething 10 күн бұрын

Ik was toen verliefd op Nena

@tumama001 Ай бұрын

any chance for youtube english subs?

@djboo-lee7147 Ай бұрын

I added a transcription in English to the comments section.

@forcelightningcable9639 Ай бұрын

Where were you promised English subtitles?

@bertenpetrasinagl2692 Ай бұрын

In de tijd dat dit een kneiterhit was, kregen wij bij de les Duits studenten van de Pabo. 1 van hen draaide dit nummer en toen moesten wij bespreken waar dit nummer over ging. Zij vertelde ons toen de achterliggende gedachte van het lied...ik was destijds 15, is mij altijd bijgebleven. Dit en dat lesgeven ook zo kon ipv het stijve instampen van naamvallen etc...hagahaaa

@Hughenn Ай бұрын

Happy I understand both German and Dutch. Such a great song and fantastic memories from my younger days.

@lonnie_johnson93 Ай бұрын

Ik spreek Nederlands, Engels en Duits. Dat het te maken had met de muur vermoede ik wel. Muziek van hoop in een soms toch wel sombere jaren '80. Net als De Bom van Doe Maar en Klein Orkest - Over de muur. Nena ziet er trouwens nog serieus goed uit, naturel voor 64 jaar oud!

@PhysischeUnsterblichkeitYTube 3 сағат бұрын

💚💚💚

@markolaki4080 Ай бұрын

Great video every time :) Thank you :)

@robertrootes Ай бұрын

Ah man, no English subtitles?

@thenerktwins Ай бұрын

Came right to the comments to post the same thing!

@lemmymaster Ай бұрын

*Goes to dutch radio channel *Subs are dutch because its a dutch channel "Why no English subtitles?"

@Menstral Ай бұрын

@@lemmymaster Jerk

@FireSonix Ай бұрын

@@lemmymaster we are on the youtube bro, you could add it separately

@djboo-lee7147 Ай бұрын

@@thenerktwins I added a transcription in English to the comments section.

@DD_Catch 14 күн бұрын

Nena❤

@RogervanValen Ай бұрын

Wij kregen dit nummer in de jaren 80 op Duitse les om te vertalen. Hele mooie tekst en verhaal achter het nummer.

@mtb5778 13 күн бұрын

isn't that just incredible that the song was inspired by mick jagger. divine inspiration.

@rattus3102 Ай бұрын

Nena en Kim Wilde waren mijn favorieten in die jaren, evenals Duran Duran, Smokie en Falco.....🥰 Tjonge wat gaat de tijd snel....het is alof ik gisteren nog plaatjes stond te draaien en met mijn casetterecorder nummers opnam van de radio.....😟

@KeesKouwenberg Ай бұрын

Geweldig nummer. Vond ik al toen het uitkwam, en nu nog steeds. En Nena zelf, die was al geen lelijke meid, maar die is er ook alleen maar mooier op geworden met de jaren!

@computerjantje 27 күн бұрын

My favorite German song ever

@TheTriumfAnt Ай бұрын

I now have a job for my German speaking wife. Luckily she loves Nena.

@teddynash 13 күн бұрын

Sehr cool diese Entstehungsgeschichte ! Wußte ich nicht. Grüße / groetjes teddynash.

@PimvP Ай бұрын

Nena hast recht!

@markrobinsontraining Ай бұрын

I'm curious why they choose "red", apart from to make up the missing syllable to make the English version fit the music.

@walterm2618 Ай бұрын

Air balloons at least in the USA translate to the ones carrying passengers. So that wouldn’t work into a straight translation. The English lyrics version imo doesn’t work or run properly as a composition anyway; sounds very odd. there’s pretty much only 2 German songs you will hear in the US major tom/peter schilling and this one. Off and on in both language versions

@Supermatsch Ай бұрын

I think because red is the color of alarm and that's what the song is about.

@maartenkos98 Ай бұрын

Wat ziet ze er goed uit zeg voor dr 64e!

@Widdekuu91 12 күн бұрын

volgens mij niet helemaal naturel maar je hebt gelijk.

@arno-luyendijk4798 Ай бұрын

Misschien ben ik wel wat bevoorrecht, maar ik kende de tekst én de betekenis doordat onze leraar Duits met ons het nummer volledig doornam en analyseerde. Nog steeds, helaas nu meer dan ooit, een actueel nummer. Als we het nummer ooit in een museum kunnen onderbrengen omdat het historische waarde heeft gekregen, heeft het zijn werk eindelijk volbracht.. ik blijf hopen, want zonder hoop bereik je niets.

@jobaecker9752 Ай бұрын

Sehr interressant..besonders mit diesen zusätzlichen Geschichten. Ich hab's erst in Deutschland gehört und kurz danach hier in Amerika, wo ich geboren bin. Außerdem is mein Vater in der Nähe von Hagen geboren...

@robgerhardterellen1488 Ай бұрын

63 Years old, still hot und noch immer ganz huebsch 😊

@JesseThehuSnooker Ай бұрын

Zou Mick Jagger dit ook weten haha

@shootingsportstransparency7461 Ай бұрын

Die video met alle explosies en rookbommen is op destijds militair terein het Harde opgenomen Ik heb nog een aantal potten moeten aansteken

@bwuh Ай бұрын

English subs pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaasssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeee

@spaceenemiesnovel Ай бұрын

Nog steeds dezelfde stem als toen.

@michaelstaunton1632 Ай бұрын

🎵👍👍👍

@jetzewesterik7095 29 күн бұрын

#GabrieleSusanneKerner velen dank fur das liet aus mijne kinterjare.

@Supermatsch Ай бұрын

I wonder if the Stones know they're responsible for the lyrics?! :D

@johnny5805 Ай бұрын

What a shame that the channel didn't use KZfaq's auto translate feature. It's greyed out.

@ahoye1 Ай бұрын

I got about 5 words right ;-D

@tomeksloekers4602 Ай бұрын

Leuk! Wist niet dat er zelfs een Engelse versie van is gemaakt en dat Nena haar artiestennaam is!

@robertsterner408 25 күн бұрын

Halloo frau Nena LoL AQUARIUS

@jdo333 Ай бұрын

still Hot after all these years....wow

@leonpennings7596 Ай бұрын

Nena is voor vrede, Nena zou FVD stemmen😊 Superleuke vrouw, vorig jaar in Oostende ontmoet samen met mijn zus.

@sandradamen-fw4zy 27 күн бұрын

Niks FvD stemmen. Behalve leuk is ze ook intelligent.

@waynehampson9569 Ай бұрын

You can't really be a Nena fan without knowing German.

@hennyverheij5969 Ай бұрын

Waar ballonnen al niet toe kunnen leiden zeg...WAUW!

@mardiffv.8775 Ай бұрын

Nou, grappig historisch feitje. Zoals je in de video zag, hielden de Stones een concert in West Berlijn. Media magnaat Springer liet via een radio uitzending weten dat de Stones ook privéconcert zouden geven bovenop zijn kantoor in West Berlijn, pal naast de muur. Die radioboodschap werd ook door de Oost-Duitse jeugd gehoord en die stroomde massaal naar de muur. De Oost Duitse Autoriteiten hadden de grootste politie operatie opgezet om die jeugd tegen te houden. En de Stones, die kwamen niet naar het Springer gebouw. Geweldige grap.

@hennyverheij5969 Ай бұрын

@@mardiffv.8775 Absoluut

@joe5boost Ай бұрын

She even did the song in English but we didn't get the subtitles 😞

@jerrymcpommes8473 Ай бұрын

I‘m german but even I wonder why this KZfaq channel is limiting its range by not translating into english.

@eentoffenaam Ай бұрын

It is a production of the Dutch NPO public broadcast company. They focus on the Dutch viewers and don’t aim for a huge KZfaq audience.

@d.j.vandermeer3832 Ай бұрын

@@eentoffenaam it’s a shame because they have a lot of great documentaires and facts that would be interesting for the whole world to see.

@eentoffenaam Ай бұрын

@@d.j.vandermeer3832 I absolutely agree with you on this one

@Thomasringpetersen Ай бұрын

The best song The Ramones never wrote😂

@badman132 Ай бұрын

diak maawatan

@kiereluurs1243 Ай бұрын

qwerty

@robertsterner408 21 күн бұрын

Muffincat dear lol😢 Aquarius

@Chillednfunked Ай бұрын

No idea what’s being said 😢

@MrJankeyzer Ай бұрын

Oh? Mag Nena weer?

@pop-a-smoke-7066 Ай бұрын

Jij mag niet😶…

@spaceengineer1452 Ай бұрын

Huh ?!

@gabe_s_videos Ай бұрын

Always awkward being someone who doesn’t speak Dutch OR the non-Dutch language being spoken in these video.

@cliostronk2667 Ай бұрын

Not Norwegian, Dutch. But I've seen a few times that a Dutchie took the time to make English subtitles. So perhaps they will be available in a short time.

@gabe_s_videos Ай бұрын

@@cliostronk2667 My bad. Correcting that rn.

@djboo-lee7147 Ай бұрын

@@cliostronk2667 @thenerktwins I added a transcription in English to the comments section.

@cliostronk2667 Ай бұрын

@@djboo-lee7147 thanks for being a nice Dutchie instead of a lazy one like me!

@djboo-lee7147 Ай бұрын

@@cliostronk2667 Well, I'm from Belgium but I speak Dutch. So I don't know if that makes me a Dutchie too. :)

@dosop8936 Ай бұрын

She was totally against it being translated into English

@walterm2618 Ай бұрын

Yeah bc the English lyrics version sounds horrible. Even in the states you will hear the German version on the radio or streaming.

@waynehampson9569 Ай бұрын

Yeah, She hated the English version.

@alexbroere2669 Ай бұрын

Muziek artiest zijn lijkt me soms erg eentonig. Elk concert hetzelfde nummer zingen. Die kan geen balonnen meer zien. 😅

@RealJap Ай бұрын

Nooit geweten wat ze zei in dat nummer, ja iets over rode luchtballonnen, voor de rest verstond ik er niets van.

@alexbernadina3082 Ай бұрын

Jaja Nena die n paar jaar geleden toch lekker aan t complot denken was geslagen

@kiereluurs1243 28 күн бұрын

Nederlands graag.

@wirovanas3317 Ай бұрын

Rette mich is het betere nummer

@wimkrol2233 Ай бұрын

Nee!! Niet in het Engels. Dit is een Duits liedje. Get used to it 😉

@kiereluurs1243 Ай бұрын

Wat zee joe den?

@roort8468 Ай бұрын

Deutsche teil ist wönder schün

@kiereluurs1243 28 күн бұрын

Deutsch bitte.

@Plisken65 Ай бұрын

Speaks german with german subtitles?😂

@dieterboullart4124 Ай бұрын

Dutch subtitles, not German. :)

@erik5374 Ай бұрын

It’s a German band, but this is a Dutch channel. The concert in the beginning is on a festival in the Netherlands and even the official video-clip was filmed on a Dutch military base.

@mrpetit2 Ай бұрын

English language prodigy at work here.... 😄

@kiereluurs1243 Ай бұрын

@@mrpetit2 Probably can't point his own country on the map, if it is an American.