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Why did Nena feel unhappy with the English version of '99 Red Balloons'? Do you know the story behind it?
"99 Luftballons" is a song released by the West German band Nena in 1983. The original version achieved great success in Europe and Japan. The band then released its English version "99 Red Balloons" in 1984. Although the two versions of the song have similar titles, the English version is not a direct translation and the lyrics differ in meaning. The English version of the song failed to chart in the United States, but the German version became Nena's only hit song in the United States, achieving good results in the Billboard Hot 100.
Background and inspiration
The song was inspired by Nena's experience at a Rolling Stones concert in West Berlin in June 1982, when guitarist Carlo Karges noticed the constant release of balloons. He watched as the balloons drifted toward the horizon, changing shape beautifully, as if they were UFOs flying in the sky. This reminded him of what would happen if the balloons floated over the Berlin Wall into East Berlin.
"99 years of war left no room for a winner."
This is reflected in the lyrics: 99 innocent balloons are mistaken for alien UFOs, leading a military general to order a pilot to investigate, but the result is ridiculous and ultimately triggers a devastating war.
Controversy over the English version
Nena members have been critical of the English version of 99 Red Balloons throughout. In March 1984, keyboardist Uwe Fallenkrog-Petersen said: "We made a mistake there. I think the songs lost something in translation and even sounded a bit silly. Nena herself admitted that she was not completely satisfied with the English version because it was "too explicit" and she and the band did not want to be seen as representatives of protest music.
"We don't want to be a protest band."
Music video of the song
The music video for the song was first broadcast on the Dutch music show Top Pop on March 13, 1983. It was filmed at a military training camp in the Netherlands, with the band performing on stage while fire roared in the background. The film ends with the band fearfully hiding from an explosion, a scene that was not planned.
Song popularity
Although American and Australian audiences preferred the German version, the English version performed well on the Canadian Small Plate and UK Singles Charts, and even reached number one on the Irish Singles Chart. Some critics praised the song's melody and lyrics, calling it "one of the best musical hooks of the 1980s." However, music experts also criticized: "It must be acknowledged that the song contains an incongruous dance interlude."
Remastering of different versions
Nena has re-recorded the song several times throughout her career, including a modern ballad version in 2002 and a retro version in 2009. These versions all featured Nena's own reinterpretation of the song, but the band members were always dissatisfied with the color of the English version.
Although "99 Red Balloons" has received a lot of praise in the music industry and has been continuously performed and recorded, the final result still cannot eliminate Nena's dissatisfaction with its English version. The gap between the original intention of the orchestra and its cultural translation makes the language of the medium of music more profound and complex.
In the intersection of culture and language, how many layers of misunderstanding and helplessness have been created that have desecrated the hard work of the original creators?
