99 red balloons or 99 luft balloons?

Nena originally recorded it in German then it was translated to English. Commercial reasons but in some ways as with the others below the song loses its true identity and purpose in some cases
And just becomes a piece of pop music.

It is like Ricky Martin songs like Livin la Vida Loca were in Spanish first then put into English, Louis Vega Mambo no 5 was also the same.
As are many others all for one purpose to make money out of it by record companies.

"Sukiyaki," originally titled "Ue o Muite Arukō" (上を向いて歩こう), is a song by Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto, released in 1961. It became a worldwide hit, reaching #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963, making it the first and only Japanese-language song to achieve this feat. The song's English title, "Sukiyaki," was a marketing decision, chosen for its familiarity to English speakers, despite having no connection to the song's lyrics or meaning.

The Japanese title, "Ue o Muite Arukō," translates to "I Look Up as I Walk," and the lyrics express a sense of looking up to hide tears and reminiscing about a past spring.

The English version gets played on the radio. I have heard the German version as well. I never cared for the song myself.

English version because I understand the lyrics that way.

"99 Dead Baboons sitting in my living room.
How they got there I'm not sure.
Woke up one day, there they were."

Who knows that one? Hint - Dr. Demento.

I prefer the orginal, same with Der Commisar

That is a fun song in any language

Both are great in my opinion.

The German version is more blunt and direct.

"goldfinger" does a banger english version...

[media=https://youtu.be/p-qfzH0vnOs]

99 Luftballons - Nena.

Der Kommissar - Falco.

Rock Me Amadeus - Falco.

Germans - Udo Lindenberg.

Luft is cool