What is "Take On Me"?

It's a 1985 synthpop single by Norwegian band A-ha whose rotoscoped music video became a long-running template for online covers, literal-lyrics rewrites and animated crossovers.

Where did "Take On Me" come from?

The single was released by Warner Bros. Records on October 19th, 1984, and paired with Steve Barron's pencil-sketch music video the following year.

What does "Take On Me" mean?

As A-ha wrote it, the chorus is a plea to a love interest to give the singer a chance; online, the phrase mostly points to the video and its many parodies rather than the lyric itself.

How do you use "Take On Me"?

Creators typically either re-sing the chorus with lyrics narrating the action on screen, as DustoMcNeato did in 2008, or restage the video's key shots with different characters, like the Steamed Hams and Elden Ring versions.

Is "Take On Me" still popular?

Yes, the song's classic status is backed by an official A-ha upload with more than a billion YouTube views and a steady stream of parodies through the 2020s.

"Take On Me"

1984viral videoclassic

Published September 30, 2026

"Take On Me" is A-ha's 1985 synthpop hit whose rotoscoped music video, set in a comic book world, became one of MTV's most iconic clips. Decades later, the song and video turned into a durable meme template, spawning YouTube literal-lyrics parodies, animated crossovers with Family Guy, The Simpsons and Elden Ring, and a steady stream of covers that keep the sketchy-pencil aesthetic alive online.

music video memes parody song memes ytmnd memes mashup video memes earworm memes

Overview

"Take On Me" is best known online as the source of one of the most-copied music videos in internet history, thanks to its rotoscoped pencil-sketch animation of a woman being pulled into a comic book world1. The meme side of the song mostly lives on YouTube, where creators re-dub the vocals, swap the sketch characters for cartoons or video game heroes, and rebuild the treadmill-chase and hand-through-the-paper beats shot for shot2.

The most influential online version is the "literal video" cut, where the lyrics are rewritten to narrate exactly what is happening on screen ("guys chasing me with a pipe wrench")2. That style set the tone for later remixes, which either lean on the same beat-for-beat recap gag or drop familiar characters into A-ha's alternate comic universe, from Chris Griffin wandering in during a Family Guy cutaway3 to a Tarnished sprinting through The Lands Between in a Carbot animation4.

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Origin & Background

Platform

MTV (original video) / YTMND and YouTube (meme spread)

Creator

A-ha; meme parodies by various online creators

Date

1984

"Take On Me" was released on October 19th, 1984 by Warner Bros. Records as the debut single from Norwegian synthpop trio A-ha, and later appeared on their 1985 album Hunting High and Low1. The song only broke through after a second re-recording paired with the now-famous music video directed by Steve Barron, which blends live action with pencil-sketch rotoscoping to depict a woman being pulled into the comic book she is reading1.

The video won six MTV Video Music Awards in 1986 and became a fixture of early MTV rotation, giving later internet users a shared frame of reference to remix. The official upload on A-ha's YouTube channel has racked up more than a billion views, keeping the source material one click away for every new parody5.

How It Spread

Online parodies of the video started appearing in the mid-2000s. Early ones ran on YTMND as looping image-and-audio gags posted as early as 20057. Television picked up the reference the same year when Family Guy's July 17th, 2005 episode "Breaking Out Is Hard to Do" briefly dropped Chris Griffin into the sketch world during a supermarket cutaway3.

The format's biggest online moment came on October 3rd, 2008, when YouTube user DustoMcNeato posted a "literal video" edit that replaced A-ha's lyrics with a play-by-play of the animation, a clip that went on to draw over 16 million views2. Comedy group Ninja Sex Party released a straight cover sung by Dan Avidan on February 23rd, 2016, which pulled in more than 14 million views of its own8. The BBC also commissioned a Harry Hill-fronted parody for Children in Need, uploaded on November 13th, 20139.

More recent remixes keep the video's shot language but change the fandom. On June 17th, 2020, YouTuber bad puns married the song to The Simpsons' Steamed Hams sketch6, and on December 10th, 2022, CarbotAnimations reworked the chorus around Elden Ring bosses in a two-million-view short4.

Timeline

1984-10-19

A-ha releases "Take On Me" as their debut single on Warner Bros. Records[1].

1985

The rotoscoped Steve Barron music video is released and helps push the re-recorded single to global chart success[5].

2008-10-03

DustoMcNeato uploads the "literal video" version with lyrics describing the animation, which grows past 16 million views[2].

2013-11-13

BBC posts a Harry Hill-led Children in Need parody of the video[9].

2016-02-23

Ninja Sex Party releases a Dan Avidan-sung cover music video[8].

2020-06-17

YouTuber bad puns mashes the song with The Simpsons' Steamed Hams scene[6].

2022-12-10

CarbotAnimations posts an Elden Ring-themed animated parody[4].

How to Use This Meme

Online riffs on "Take On Me" typically pick one of two templates. The first is the "literal video" approach popularized by DustoMcNeato, where creators re-sing the chorus with lyrics that describe on-screen action instead of the original words2. The second swaps the sketchy protagonists for other characters, keeping the rotoscope look and key story beats (the diner, the crumpled paper, the hand reaching through) so the reference reads instantly, as seen in the Steamed Hams and Elden Ring versions6 4.