99 Luftballons by Nena (Advanced): Verse 2

💬 After [auf], [ihr] becomes [ihrem] here because [Weg] is masculine and the phrase means being on a route, not moving onto it. You see the same pattern in [auf meinem Weg] and [auf deinem Weg].

💬 [zum] is a common short form of [zu dem]. You'll see the same kind of contraction in [am] = [an dem] and [im] = [in dem].

💬 [zum] is the everyday short form of [zu dem], so [zum Horizont] is literally [to the horizon]. German does this a lot with little function words: [am] = [an dem], [im] = [in dem].

💬 [halten für] means [to consider something to be], not literally [hold for]. Same pattern: [Ich halte das für einen Fehler] = [I consider that a mistake].

💬 After [für], German often uses no article when English would still say one, especially with jobs, roles, or categories like [für Ufos]. Compare [Ich halte ihn für einen Idioten] but [Man hielt es für Gold].

💬 [das All] means [outer space], so [aus dem All] is a fixed phrase for [from outer space]. [dem] appears because [aus] changes [das] to [dem].

💬 [halten für] means [to think something is] or [to consider something to be]. You can reuse it with people and things: [Ich hielt ihn für nett], [Man hielt es für echt].

💬 When a word like [darum] comes first, the verb moves right after it: [Darum schickte ein General ...]. Same pattern: [Heute gehe ich], not [Heute ich gehe].