“99 Luftballons” (German Neunundneunzig Luftballons, “99 balloons”) is an anti-nuclear protest song by the German band Nena from their 1983 self-titled album. An English version titled “99 Red Balloons” written by Kevin McAlea was also released after widespread success of the original in Europe and Japan. The English version is not a direct translation of the German and contains a somewhat different set of lyrics. The later-released English translation, “99 Red Balloons”, was the version that became popular outside of Germany and neighbouring countries, with it topping the charts in the UK, Canada,and Ireland.