[Verse 1]
If you have some time to spare
I will sing a song for you
About 99 balloons
On their way to the horizon
If you're thinking about me right now
I will sing a song for you
About 99 balloons
And the consequences of innocent actions1
[Verse 2]
99 balloons
On their way to the horizon
Were mistaken for alien invaders
So a general
Sent a fighter squadron after them
To sound the alert if that were true
But all there was on the horizon
Were 99 balloons
[Verse 3]
99 fighter pilots
Each of them a great warrior
Took themselves for Captain Kirk
And started massive fireworks
The neighbors didn't understand what was going on
And felt personally offended
But all they shot at on the horizon
Were 99 balloons
[Verse 4]
99 secretaries of war
With matches and cans of gasoline
Took themselves for clever
With dollar signs in their eyes
Called for war, lusting for power
Boy, who'd have thought
It would ever come to this
Because of 99 balloons?
[Bridge]
Because of 99 balloons
99 balloons!
[Verse 5]
99 years of war
Left no place for winners
There are no secretaries of war anymore
Nor any fighter pilots
As I'm making my rounds
And see the world burned to the ground
I found a balloon
And set it off, thinking of you
1. Lit. "and that this comes from that". The German idiom puts the emphasis on the second "sowas", denoting a petty cause for significant effect.