<P> The lyrics of the original German version tell a story: 99 balloons are mistaken for UFOs, causing a General to send pilots to investigate . Finding nothing but child's balloons, the pilots decide to put on a show and shoot them down . The display of force worries the nations along the borders and the Defence ministers on each side bang the drums of conflict to grab power for themselves . In the end, a 99 - year war results from the otherwise harmless flight of balloons, causing devastation on all sides without a victor . At the end, the singer walks through the devastated ruins and lets loose a balloon, watching it fly away . </P> <P> According to David Frum, the political context of the song was the protests against NATO nuclear missile deployments . </P> <P> The English version retains the spirit of the original narrative, but many of the lyrics are translated poetically rather than directly translated: red helium balloons are casually released by an anonymous civilian into the sky and are registered as missiles by a faulty early warning system; the balloons are mistaken for military aircraft which results in panic and eventually nuclear war . </P> <P> From the outset Nena and other members of the band expressed disapproval for the English version of the song, "99 Red Balloons". In March 1984, the band's keyboardist and song co-writer Uwe Fahrenkrog Petersen said, "We made a mistake there . I think the song loses something in translation and even sounds silly ." In another interview that month the band including Nena herself were quoted as being "not completely satisfied" with the English version since it was "too blatant" for a group not wishing to be seen as a protest band . Despite having given in excess of 500 concerts over a period of more than 30 years, Nena has never sung "99 Red Balloons" live, even at her rare concerts in England, always performing the German version instead . </P>

The meaning of the song 99 red balloons
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