Interpretation Of Take On Me By John Tarney

“Take On Me,” a true legend and a catchy pop tune from the year of 1984 and 1985, took the world by storm. On October Nineteenth, the Norwegian synthpop group A-ha forever graced our hearts and souls with their astonishing masterpiece, “Take On Me.” The track was produced by John Ratcliff and Alan Tarney. This hit new-wave pop song would go on to earn a gold status in the music industry. The song was produced as a single under the Warner Bros. music label and was later printed on the B-side of their album “Hunting High and Low.” Due to the time period, original prints can only be found on vinyl records in the seven or twelve-inch size. It’s inspiring to see how well a song can stand the tests of time and brace itself over the years against
Starting out in the first stanza, the lyrics read “We’re talking away, I don’t know what to say, but I'll say it anyway.” These opening lines are very important because they express the singer's inner doubts and nervousness. Since we previously interpreted the song to symbolize the “hunt” for love or flirting, we can assume that the singer's unsure speech correlates with him talking to a girl. This is an important first lyric because it sets the mood of the songs self-doubting undertones and intrigues the listener. The songwriter, then follows with, “Today’s another day to find you, shying away” and “I’ll be coming for your love, okay?” Both lines further reinforce my theory of self-doubt, but these lines suggest that not only the singer shys away but also the person referenced in the song is unsure as well. In the final line proceeding the chorus, the singer musters the strength and takes charge of the self-doubt in himself and others by showing confidence. In the line, “I’ll be coming for your love, okay?” the singer breaks out of his shell and “mans-up” to the girl by asking if he can pursue her love. This is a very influential part in the song because at this point the singer has a change of heart about his self-doubt. Once the singer does this, the mood of the song picks up. In the famous line, “Take on me,” the singer challenges the girl by inviting her to “come at him” or “try him.” Typically these phrases would be used to provoke someone to fight but in this case, they hold a different meaning. When the singer breaks his doubts he becomes very confident and wants to project that he is no longer afraid of himself or her. He uses this to let the girl know that he is done with hiding and that he’s ready to try flirting or a relationship. The singer then states that he’ll be gone in a day or two. This part of the chorus makes the song more passionate and suspenseful because the singer has