I have to disagree on the Nena. Although I love to belt out "99 Luftballoon", the English lyrics are clearly better written. Compare the opening stanzas:
Hast du etwas Zeit für mich Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich Von 99 Luftballons Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont Denkst du vielleicht g'rad an mich Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich Von 99 Luftballons Und dass so was von so was kommt.
My rough English translation:
If you have some time for me Then I'll sing a song for you Of 99 balloons On their way to the horizon Maybe you're thinking of me just now Then I'll sing a song for you Of 99 balloons And that such a thing comes from such a thing
Compare that to the English version:
You and I in a little toy shop Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got Set them free at the break of dawn Til one by one, they were gone Back at base bugs in the software Flash the message, something's out there Floating in the summer sky 99 red balloons go by
No contest: The English sets the scene by describing the harmless activity which sets the rest of the events recounted in motion where the German is just repetitive meta-commentary. You could add the same verse to any song simply by replacing "von 99 Luftballoons" with "vom Leben und Tod" or "von mir und Bobby McGee" or whatever. It's completely generic and unnecessary.
The only example from Gabriel's œuvre which I would say falls this flat is "Schock den Affen", which is even more nonsensical than the original and, as a result, has less impact.
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momijizukamori
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Date: 2006-09-13 06:46 pm (UTC)The only example from Gabriel's œuvre which I would say falls this flat is "Schock den Affen", which is even more nonsensical than the original and, as a result, has less impact.