Take On Me | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: N.C | N.C :||
||: Bm9 :|| x4
||: Bm | E | A | D C#m :||
| Bm | E | Bm | E |
Verse 1
| Bm | E | A | D C#m |
We’re talking away, no, I don’t know what I’m to say,
| Bm | E | A | D C#m |
I’ll say it anyway, today’s another day to find you,
| Bm | E | F#m | D |
shying away. I’ll be coming for your love, okay?
Chorus 1
| A | E/G# | F#m | D |
Take on me (take on me).
| A | E/G# | F#m | D |
Take me on (take on me).
| A | E/G# | F#m | D | (half time)
I’ll be gone,
| A | E/G# | D | E |
in a day.
Verse 2
| Bm | E | A | D C#m |
So needless to say, I’m odds and ends but I’ll be,
| Bm | E | A | D C#m |
stumbling away, slowly learning that life is okay.
| Bm | E | F#m | D |
Say after me, it’s no better to be safe than sorry.
Chorus 2
| A | E/G# | F#m | D |
Take on me (take on me).
| A | E/G# | F#m | D |
Take me on (take on me).
| A | E/G# | F#m | D | (half time)
I’ll be gone,
| A | E/G# | D | E |
in a day.
Solo
||: C#m | C#m | G | G :||
| Bm | Bm | E | E |
| Bm | E | Bm | E | (half riff repeated)
||: Bm | E | A | D C#m :||
| Bm | E | Bm | E |
Verse 3
| Bm | E | A | D C#m |
Oh, the things that you say, yeah, is it life or just to play my,
| Bm | E | A | D C#m |
worries away? You’re all the things I’ve got to remember,
| Bm | E | F#m | D |
you’re shying away, I’ll be coming for you anyway.
Chorus 3
||: A | E/G# | F#m | D :||
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, take on me)
In a day (take me on, take on me)
(Take on me, take on me)
(Take me on, take on me)
(Take on me)
Take On Me’s chords and progressions
Perhaps surprisingly, this is great fun to play on the guitar. I’ve tabbed out that (awesome) intro and main riff for members which you’ll need to get 100% right.
Once you can do it, all you need is the chord progression to remind you which moves from chord II – V – I – IV – III. In the key of A, that looks like this:
||: Bm (II) | E (V) | A (I) | D (IV) C#m (III) :||
Because it starts on chord II and the I chord is in the middle of this progression, it feels as if we never want to stop, very clever.
The chorus feels as if it is slowing down, partly because of the beat but also the chords which are I – V/3 – VI – IV. This progression is more resolved as the I chord starts the journey.
| A | E/G# | F#m | D |
After repeating this twice, we actually do slow down as the third time is played in half tempo. When the verse comes back we feel very energetic and ready to listen to what is about to happen next.
Members get TAB for that awesome synth line and a full chord analysis including the solo which goes a bit mentally harmonically, to say the least!
Here’s a link to the complete lesson (members only): Take On Me chord analysis and TAB.
Become a member today and get unlimited access to all step-by-step guitar courses, TAB for the songbook, the Self-Eliminating Practice Routine, and the eBook Spytunes Method.
Take On Me was rerecorded and had two music videos made before it became a hit!
A-ha’s Take On Me was an enormous worldwide success for the Norwegian synth poppers, hitting the top spot in eleven countries.
It wasn’t instant though, they had to record and release it twice, complete with a groundbreaking music video before it happened, but when it did, the band became world-famous overnight.
I’m sure the rerecording helped but the video surely was the main reason. Directed by Steve Barron, who also made Money For Nothing, Summer Of ’69, Billie Jean, Run To You, Electric Avenue, and many more it was perhaps Take On Me that is his best work.
Set in a world going between cartoons and the real world, Morten Harket and Therese Bunty Bailey fall in love as they get chased by some kind of evil motorcycle gang.
The video took 16 weeks to complete using a technique called rotoscope. This involves painting over film frames which look great but are incredibly time-consuming. For Take On Me, 3000 images were produced.
In the playlist above, there’s a 3 part documentary telling the story of how the video for Take On Me was created by the people who made it.
Take On Me chords | Related pages
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
A-ha
Norwegian 80s pop/new wave band A-ha had to re-record both their signature song and video before the world woke up to their smash hit.
Their best tunes include Hunting High and Low, The Sun Always Shines On TV, and of course, Take On Me.
A-ha on the web
Pop & Rock
Whenever a tune doesn’t fit into a specific genre, it tends to end up here, in the Pop & Rock section.
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