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99 Luftballons, Side by Side Comparison

I would like to thank Siobhán Silke, who did a quick translation of the German lyrics into English, his notes are at the end of this page. You can also view each of these columns seperately by following the link at the top of each. I thought a side by side comparision would be very interesting to see how the lyrics had to be changed to fit the meter of the song when it was translated into English from German. I'm not sure who wrote the original English lyrics, but they certainly did a good job at capturing the original spirit of the song. I think it's neat both versions work in Captin Kirk, even if they do come in different stanzas.


German Direct German Translation English as Sung
Hast Du etwas Zeit fuer mich If you have some time for me You and I in a little toy shop
Dann singe ich ein Lied fuer Dich Then I'll sing a song for you buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got
Von 99 Luftballons About 99 balloons Set them free at the break of dawn
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont On their way to the horizon 'Til one by one, they were gone
Denkst Du vielleicht grad' an mich Perhaps you think of me a bit Back at base, bugs in the software
Dann singe ich ein Lied fuer Dich Then I'll sing a song for you Flash the message, "Something's out there"
Von 99 Luftballons About 99 balloons Floating in the summer sky
Und dass sowas von sowas kommt And that what goes around come around * 99 red balloons go by.
     
99 Luftballons 99 balloons 99 red balloons
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont On their way to the horizon floating in the summer sky
Hielt man fuer UFOs aus dem All Seemed like UFOs from space ^ Panic bells, it's red alert
Darum schickte ein General So a general sent There's something here from somewhere else
'ne Fliegerstaffel hinterher A flying squad out there The war machine springs to life
Alarm zu geben, wenn's so waer To raise the alarm if it was true Opens up one eager eye
Dabei war'n da am Horizont Yet there on the horizon were Focusing it on the sky
Nur 99 Luftballons Only 99 balloons Where 99 red balloons go by.
     
99 Duesenjaeger 99 jet hunters 99 Decision Street
Jeder war ein grosser Krieger Each one was a great warrior 99 ministers meet
Hielten sich fuer Captain Kirk Thought that they were Captain Kirk ^ To worry, worry, super-scurry
Das gab ein grosses Feuerwerk There were great fireworks Call the troops out in a hurry
Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft The neighbours didn't snatch anything up % This is what we've waited for
Und fuehlten sich gleich angemacht And immediately felt turned on $ This is it boys, this is war
Dabei schoss man am Horizont Yet there they shot on the horizon The president is on the line
Auf 99 Luftballons At 99 balloons As 99 red balloons go by.
     
99 Kriegsminister 99 war ministers 99 Knights of the air
Streichholz und Benzinkanister Matches and petrol cans ride super-high-tech jet fighters
Hielten sich fuer schlaue Leute Thought that they were clever people ^ Everyone's a Silverhero
Witterten schon fette Beute Already smelled greasy loot Everyone's a Captain Kirk
Riefen: Krieg und wollten Macht Shouted: War, and wanted power With orders to identify
Mann, wer haette das gedacht Man, who would have thought To clarify and classify
Dass es einmal soweit kommt That one day it would come to this Scramble in the summer sky
Wegen 99 Luftballons Because of 99 balloons As 99 red balloons go by.
     
99 Jahre Krieg 99 years of war 99 dreams I have had
Liessen keinen Platz fuer Sieger Don't leave a place for victors In every one a red balloon
Kriegsminister gibt's nicht mehr There are no ministers any more It's all over and I'm standin' pretty
Und auch keine Duesenflieger No jet engines either In this dust that was a city
Heute zieh ich meine Runden Today I'm doing my rounds If I could find a souvenier
Seh' die Welt in Truemmern liegen Seeing the world lying in ruins Just to prove the world was here...
Hab' 'nen Luftballon gefunden Found a balloon And here is a red balloon
Denk' an Dich und lass' ihn fliegen Think of you and let it fly I think of you and let it go.


  • * literally - "and that something comes from something" I think this is the right idiom to use here, but it's really just a guess, a native speaker could correct me

  • ^ hielten fuer, infinitive = halten fuer, mistake for halten sich fuer, mistake oneself for

  • % this is the literal translation, zusammenraffen = snatch up I'm not sure what the idiomatic use is (or if it has one)

  • $ anmachen, means turn someone on sexually, but also light on fire

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