10 Best Songs With The Word ‘Take’ In The Title

Feature Photo: Foto: Stefan Brending

The word “take” can mean almost anything in a song title: a request, a command, an escape, a warning, or an invitation. For this list, we wanted more than ten obvious hits, so the selections move between giant classics, album cuts, comedy rock, Southern rock, soft rock, and a few songs that deserve more attention. Some of these tracks ask someone to stay, some ask someone to leave, and a few use the word in ways that are much harder to explain. That variety is what makes a simple title theme like this fun to explore. These are ten songs that prove one small word can open the door to completely different kinds of music.

# 10 – Take Me Down – The Pretty Reckless

“Take Me Down” was released in 2016 as the lead single from The Pretty Reckless album Who You Selling For. Taylor Momsen and Ben Phillips wrote the song, which turns the old crossroads legend about selling your soul for musical success into a modern hard-rock story. The track topped Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart, becoming the band’s fourth number-one single on that chart. That run also made The Pretty Reckless the first act to send its first four Mainstream Rock entries to number one. With its blues influence, heavy chorus, and Momsen’s vocal out front, “Take Me Down” is a strong way to open this list.

Read More: Top 10 The Pretty Reckless Songs

# 9 – Take Your Whiskey Home – Van Halen

“Take Your Whiskey Home” comes from Van Halen’s 1980 album Women and Children First. The song begins with Eddie Van Halen on acoustic guitar before the full band crashes in with a dirtier blues-rock groove. David Lee Roth sounds completely at home in the lyrics, while Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen keep the track loose but heavy underneath him. Ted Templeman produced the album, which pushed Van Halen beyond the party-rock sound of the first two records without losing any of the band’s personality. “Take Your Whiskey Home” was never a major single, but it remains one of the best examples of how naturally Van Halen could turn the blues into something entirely their own.

Read More: Van Halen’s Best Song On Each Of Their Studio Albums

# 8 – Take Off – Bob and Doug McKenzie

“Take Off” may be the funniest song on this list, but it was also a legitimate hit record. Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas created Bob and Doug McKenzie for SCTV, and the characters carried their Canadian comedy onto the 1981 album The Great White North. Geddy Lee of Rush sings on the track, giving the record far more musical firepower than a comedy single had any right to possess. “Take Off” reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and even outperformed every Rush single on that particular chart. The combination of Geddy Lee’s voice and the McKenzie brothers’ ridiculous interruptions turned a novelty record into a piece of Canadian rock history.

# 7 – Take It With Me – Tom Waits

“Take It With Me” appears near the end of Tom Waits’ 1999 album Mule Variations. Waits and Kathleen Brennan wrote the song, and its quiet arrangement gives his rough voice enough space to sound unusually tender. Instead of the clanging percussion and strange characters that fill other parts of the album, this track feels like somebody looking back over a life and deciding what really mattered. The repeated idea that love is the one thing worth taking with you gives the song enormous emotional weight without becoming sentimental. “Take It With Me” is one of the most beautiful recordings in Waits’ catalog and a reminder that his strangest voice could also be one of his warmest.

Read More: Tom Waits’ Best Song From Each Of His Studio Albums

# 6 – Take It Easy On Me – Little River Band

“Take It Easy on Me” comes from Little River Band’s 1981 album Time Exposure. Graeham Goble wrote the song, and George Martin produced the recording during one of the most successful periods of the Australian band’s American career. Released as the album’s second single, it reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The song became Little River Band’s sixth and final Top 10 hit in the United States. Its polished arrangement and pleading chorus make it one of the strongest examples of the sophisticated soft-rock sound the band brought to radio in the early 1980s.

Read More: Top 10 Little River Band Songs

# 5 – Take Your Time – Lynyrd Skynyrd

“Take Your Time” is an archival Lynyrd Skynyrd recording that finally received an official release on the 1987 collection Legend. Ronnie Van Zant and Ed King wrote the song, and the performance carries the loose blues feeling that ran through so much of the band’s early material. Van Zant sings with an easy confidence while the guitars stretch out around him instead of rushing toward a radio-length structure. The recording feels less polished than the group’s best-known studio classics, which is part of what makes it interesting. “Take Your Time” sounds like Skynyrd simply settling into a groove and letting the song breathe, and that relaxed quality earns it a place on this list.

Read More: Top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Songs

# 4 – Take Me Home Tonight – Eddie Money

“Take Me Home Tonight” brought Eddie Money roaring back onto rock radio in 1986. Released as the lead single from Can’t Hold Back, the song pairs Money with Ronnie Spector, who returns to the famous “be my little baby” phrase from the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby.” That connection gives the song its emotional hook while Richie Zito’s production supplies the glossy 1980s rock sound around it. Ronnie Spector’s presence is what makes the record impossible to mistake for anything else. The single reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Album Rock Tracks chart, becoming Money’s biggest pop hit. “Take Me Home Tonight” works because the nostalgia is built directly into the record without ever making it feel like an oldies exercise.

Read More: Top 10 Eddie Money Songs

# 3 – Take Me For a Little While – Jimmy Page & David Coverdale

“Take Me for a Little While” comes from the 1993 Coverdale–Page album, the one-off collaboration between David Coverdale and Jimmy Page. Coverdale and Page wrote the song together, with Page handling electric and acoustic guitars as well as some bass on the recording. Denny Carmassi played drums, Lester Mendez added keyboards, and Mike Fraser joined Coverdale and Page in producing the album. The song shows the softer side of the partnership without losing the huge guitar sound people expected from Page. Released as a single, “Take Me for a Little While” reached number 15 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and number 29 in the United Kingdom.

Read More: David Coverdale: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview

# 2 – Take Me To The Pilot – Elton John

“Take Me to the Pilot” is Elton John rocking the roof off the house. Elton and Bernie Taupin wrote the song for the 1970 album Elton John, where Gus Dudgeon produced the recording and Paul Buckmaster arranged the cello parts. The original studio track features Caleb Quaye on electric lead guitar, Alan Parker on acoustic rhythm guitar, Barry Morgan on drums, and Alan Weighill on bass. Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson were not on that studio recording, but they soon became Elton’s great live rhythm section and are heard with him on the explosive version from 17-11-70. The song became a concert favorite because Elton could keep pushing the piano harder every time the arrangement opened up. “Take Me to the Pilot” has never needed a clear lyrical explanation because the sheer force of the performance has always been enough.

Read More: Top 10 Elton John Songs

# 1 – Take It Easy – The Eagles

“Take It Easy” was the Eagles’ debut single and one of the songs that immediately defined the band’s sound. Jackson Browne began writing the song, and Glenn Frey helped finish it before the Eagles recorded it for their 1972 debut album. Glyn Johns produced the track at Olympic Studios in London, capturing the mix of country, folk, and rock that would become central to the band’s early records. The single reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and quickly became an Eagles signature song. From the opening guitar to the famous Winslow, Arizona lyric, “Take It Easy” sounds like the beginning of an entire era of Southern California rock, which is why it takes the number-one spot here.

Read More: 10 Most Underrated Eagles Songs

Updated September 14, 2026.

10 Best Songs With The Word ‘Take’ In The Title article published on ClassicRockHistory.com © 2026