I’m a little obsessed with this song, but I’m not the only one. The Los Angeles Times reported that the original video has reached one billion views on You Tube, and why not? The video was creative, compelling, told a story, and, let’s face it—how fun it would be to be pulled into a fantasy world when you’re idling in a restaurant whose specialty is cold milk?

And the song is charming. It’s been covered by so many bands, but let’s start with the opening of the the original video:

My friend and former student Kristin introduced me to the Mariachi Sound Machine version a few years ago, and I still love it. My favorite part is the trumpeter and his little boy. But I love all of it.

First to Eleven is a band from Erie, Pennsylvania. I love the grunge touch (the drummer is cool); the lead singer, Audra Miller is—let’s face it—kinda sexy. Jeez! Is it okay that I said that? Here’s that version in its entirety:

I always love to find songs I know covered by the high-school-aged School of Rock kids. Look at how happy they are!

But of all the A-Ha variations, there’s none quite like the unplugged MTV performance by Morten Harket (the band was Norwegian), which is elegant. And it’s almost as much fun to watch the women in the audience react to a pop song which still has such power almost forty years later.