MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
Take on me (A-Ha)
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3:47
Video page URL
https://multimedia-english.com/videos/music/take-on-me-a-ha-508
Description

A romance between a real girl and a boy from a comic book. Or is it the boy real too? Or are they both real? Or both from comics? Anyway, watch it in one of the best videos from the 80's, when music videos were just beginning. If you want, after watching this video you can check this modern version: Take on Me (literal version).


You can also sing to this karaoke version.

Transcript

We're talking away
I don't know what I'm to say
I'll say it anyway
Today is another day to find you
Shying away
I'll be coming for your love, OK?

Take on me (take on me)
Take me on (take on me)
I'll be gone
In a day or two

So needless to say
I'm odds and ends but I'll be stumbling away
Slowly learning that life is OK.

Say after me:
"It's no better to be safe than sorry."

Take on me (take on me)
Take me on (take on me)
I'll be gone
In a day or two

Oh, the things that you say
Is it life or just to play my worries away?
You're all the things I've got to remember
You're shying away
I'll be coming for you anyway

Take on me (take on me)
Take me on (take on me)
I'll be gone in a day...
(Take on me, take on me)
(Take me on, take on me)
I'll be gone (take on me)
In a day... (take me on)

Explanations

TALKING AWAY= Spending time talking. It also might be: we’re talking, and our talk is separating us (taking us away from each other).

WHAT I’M TO SAY= What I’m supposed to say, what I must say.

SHY AWAY= Avoid a person, hide, try not to see them.

TODAY IS ANOTHER DAY TO FIND YOU SHYING AWAY= Today I find you avoiding me again.

I’LL BE GONE= I’ll leave.

NEEDLESS TO SAY= It goes without saying; there’s no need to say it. The suffix –LESS means "without".

I’M ODDS AND ENDS= I’m confused. But the expression "odds and ends" most of the times means "this and that"; "bits and pieces", random items (different things with no apparent relationship or varied kinds of things).

STUMBLE= To miss one's step in walking or running; trip and almost fall; to make a mistake. STUMBLE AWAY in this song means: "to go away from you, but confused and hurt", so he’s not walking normally, but stumbling, like a drunk person.

IT’S NO BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY= The original expression is "Better safe than sorry", which means, "don’t take unnecessary risks". So in this song he means the opposite: take risks, put your fears away and accept me.


TO PLAY MY WORRIES AWAY= To calm me down, to make me stop worrying. Pronunciation: Worry is pronounced /wʌrɪ/.

Meaning

The meaning of this song is a little bit obscure, especially because of the enigmatic chorus line "take on me". What does it really mean? Finally I found this comment from a guy on the Net nicked "wykyd6", which I copy here:

"I am quite surprised that no one seems to know the origin of this song. This song's title, (however unbelievable given its popularity) is based on a translation error. A-HA is a Norwegian group. "Take on me" in English means nothing on its own, it sounds like gibberish unless it is overanalyzed [...] The way to say "Touch me" in Norwegian is "Ta pi meg." When translated directly into English, it is something along the lines of "Take" (Ta) "on" (Pi) "Me" (Meg). Norwegians have bemoaned this vastly undernoticed language error for years, although American media has said little about it since its release. I imagine similar errors accounted for awkward (but perhaps not necessarily incorrect) language throughout the lyrics (i.e. "is it life, or just to play")"

The meaning of the song is probably about some kind of ultimatum from a guy to the girl he loves. They started OK but now she’s cold (shying away) and avoids him. He feels confused and tells her he’ll try anything to win her back, but he’s not going to try forever (I’ll be gone in a day or two) so she should put her fears away and go for it (it’s no better to be safe than sorry).