If you’ve spent any time digging through the dusty corners of Britpop bootlegs or scrolling through Reddit threads at 2 AM, you’ve probably run into it. A snippet of lyrics. A frantic, gravelly vocal. People whispering about oasis take me there as if it’s a lost holy grail.
But here’s the thing. Most people are actually talking about two different things without realizing it.
They’re either losing their minds over the soul-crushing outro of "Slide Away," or they’re hunting for the white whale: the unreleased 1992 demo simply titled "Take Me." Honestly, the confusion makes sense. When Liam Gallagher screams "Take me there!" at the end of a six-minute epic, it burns into your brain. But if you're looking for the actual song with those words in the title, you have to go back to before the world knew who the Gallaghers were. Back to when they were just five guys in a basement in Manchester making a "racket."
The Slide Away Outro: A Moment of Pure Magic
Let’s start with the one you probably know. "Slide Away" is arguably the best thing Noel Gallagher ever wrote. It’s a desperate, soaring anthem about a relationship that’s already dead but hasn't realized it yet. It was written on a guitar Johnny Marr gave Noel, which is a bit of rock royalty trivia that every fan loves to trot out.
But the "take me there" part? That’s the climax.
As the song reaches its final minute, the guitars are swirling, the drums are crashing, and you hear that repeated line: “Don’t know, don’t care, all I know is you can take me there.” On the studio version of Definitely Maybe, it’s actually Noel singing those high harmony parts in the background while Liam continues the main melody. In the 90s, when they played it live, it was different. Liam would often take charge of that line, shouting it with a raw, desperate energy that felt like he was trying to punch through the ceiling of the venue. Fans started calling this the oasis take me there moment because it felt like its own separate entity.
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You’ve probably seen the videos. Liam leaning into the mic, tambourine in hand, screaming "WHAT FOR!" after the line. Why did they say "What for"? Nobody really knows. Some fans think it’s a sex joke. Others think it’s an anagram. Noel probably just thought it sounded cool during a rehearsal at the Boardwalk and it stuck.
The "Lost" Track: The 1992 Demo "Take Me"
Now, if you’re a real trainspotter, you know there is a literal song called "Take Me." It’s not on Definitely Maybe. It’s not a B-side on "Supersonic." It exists primarily on the "MickDude" demo tape from 1992 and various bootlegs like The Burnage Years.
This is where the history gets kinda fuzzy.
Before Noel joined and took over everything, Oasis was basically Liam and Bonehead (Paul Arthurs). They were writing their own stuff. "Take Me" is one of those rare artifacts written by Liam Gallagher and Bonehead, not Noel.
- Vibe: It sounds more like The Stone Roses or The La's than the heavy, Wall of Sound style Noel brought later.
- Vocals: Liam sounds incredibly young. His voice is thinner, less "sandpaper and honey," and more "indie kid from Burnage."
- Lyrics: They’re simple. They don’t have the "universal truth" feeling of Noel’s writing, but there’s a genuine yearning in them.
When Noel joined, he famously told the band he’d only do it if he became the sole songwriter. Most of those early Liam/Bonehead tunes like "Alice" and "Reminisce" were tossed into the bin. "Take Me" almost made it, but Noel eventually replaced it with his own superior material. Can you blame him? When you have "Live Forever" in your back pocket, you don't really need a song that sounds like a Stone Roses B-side.
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Why We Are Still Talking About This in 2026
The Oasis reunion in 2025 changed the stakes for these old tracks. Suddenly, things that were "lost" are being unearthed for 30th-anniversary box sets. While oasis take me there (referring to the "Take Me" demo) didn't make the official cut for the Definitely Maybe 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition in 2024—that release focused more on the Monnow Valley sessions and Sawmills outtakes—the demand for it hasn't died down.
Fans want the "Pre-Noel" era documented properly.
There’s a nuance here that casual listeners miss. The "Take Me" demo represents a version of Oasis that could have been. A more "baggy," Manchester-centric band. Instead, we got the world-conquering rock machine.
The Confusion with "Take Me Away"
Just to make things more annoying for your Google search, there’s also a song called "Take Me Away." This was the B-side to "Supersonic." It’s a beautiful acoustic track sung by Noel.
A lot of people type oasis take me there when they actually want the lyrics to "Take Me Away."
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"Take Me Away" is about wanting to leave the city. "Take Me" (the demo) is about a girl. "Take me there" (the Slide Away outro) is about a spiritual or emotional escape. They’re all different. It’s a mess, frankly.
How to Actually Hear the Rare Stuff
If you want to find the real "Take Me" demo, don't look on Spotify. It’s not there. Big Brother Recordings (the band's label) is very protective.
- YouTube is your best bet. Search for "Oasis Take Me 1992 Demo." You’ll find a grainy video with a picture of a cassette tape. That’s the real deal.
- Bootleg Forums. Sites like Live4ever or the Oasis subreddit have links to high-quality transfers from the original demo tapes.
- Physical Media. If you’re a collector, look for The Burnage Years on Discogs. It’s a multi-CD bootleg that contains almost every scrap of audio from 1991-1993.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're trying to master the lore of oasis take me there, here is what you need to do to stay ahead of the curve.
First, stop using the terms interchangeably. If you're talking to a hardcore fan and you say "Take Me There is my favorite song," they’re going to correct you and say, "You mean the outro to Slide Away?" Use the right names to save yourself the lecture.
Second, if you haven't heard the "Take Me" demo, go listen to it right now. It provides a massive amount of context for how much the band changed the moment Noel Gallagher stepped into the room. You can hear the raw potential in Liam's voice before it was refined into the iconic snarl of 1994.
Lastly, keep an eye on future "Early Years" releases. With the band back together and the 30th anniversary of Morning Glory and Be Here Now looming, there is a very high probability that these 1992 demos will finally get a polished, official digital release. Until then, the bootlegs are your only friend.
The reality is that oasis take me there isn't just a search term; it's a window into the evolution of a band that defined a decade. Whether it's the unreleased demo or the heart-wrenching end of a classic, it's all part of the same messy, brilliant story.