Vance Joy - Riptide Lyrics


Vance Joy Lyrics

Riptide Lyrics
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I was scared of dentists and the dark
I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations
Oh, all my friends are turning green
You're the magician's assistant in their dream

Oh, and they come unstuck

Lady, running down to the riptide
Taken away to the dark side
I wanna be your left hand man
I love you when you're singing that song
And I got a lump in my throat
'Cause you're gonna sing the words wrong

There's this movie that I think you'll like
This guy decides to quit his job and heads to New York City
This cowboy's running from himself
And she's been living on the highest shelf

Oh, and they come unstuck

Lady, running down to the riptide
Taken away to the dark side
I wanna be your left hand man
I love you when you're singing that song
And I got a lump in my throat
'Cause you're gonna sing the words wrong

I just wanna, I just wanna know
If you're gonna, if you're gonna stay
I just gotta, I just gotta know
I can't have it, I can't have it any other way
I swear she's destined for the screen
Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen, oh

Lady, running down to the riptide
Taken away to the dark side
I wanna be your left hand man
I love you when you're singing that song
And I got a lump in my throat
'Cause you're gonna sing the words wrong

Oh lady, running down to the riptide
Taken away to the dark side
I wanna be your left hand man
I love you when you're singing that song
And I got a lump in my throat
'Cause you're gonna sing the words wrong

Oh lady, running down to the riptide
Taken away to the dark side
I wanna be your left hand man
I love you when you're singing that song
And I got a lump in my throat
'Cause you're gonna sing the words wrong
And I got a lump in my throat
'Cause you're gonna sing the words wrong
Writer: James Keogh
Copyright: Lyrics © WB Music Corp.
Back to: Vance Joy Lyrics

Riptide Info:

• In an interview, Vance Joy said the title of the song came from a motel of the same name he used to go to with his family when he was a child.

He said: "I think at first you write these words without really thinking if they make sense or not. In my mind it's the ocean, but my whole awareness of that word existing is staying at a motel called Riptide. That's why it was in my head since it's not the most commonly used expression. And for that reason, the word has a special significance and a special memory for me."

• The song was inspired by an encounter with a girl. He recalled: "Around the time I wrote the song I met this girl. I asked her what she did and she was like 'I'm a magician's assistant.' I didn't really know where to go from there. I bet she never gets tired of laying that line on people."

• The song's melody came to him on his way back from his local store to buy some food for dinner and he found himself humming the chorus.

• Vance Joy mentions Michelle Pfeiffer in the song because he was infatuated with the actress when he was younger.

From the Album:
Dream Your Life Away (2014)

Released:
May 21st, 2013

Recorded:
May 2012

Genre:
Indie folk, indie pop

Length:
3:24

Writer:
James Keogh

Producers:
James Keogh
Edwin White
John Castle

Music video:
"Riptide" on YouTube

The music video was directed by Dimitri Basil and Laura Gorun and was first released onto YouTube on April 2nd, 2013

Basil said in a video commentary: "Most people are trying to be very arty and avoid being literal at all, So I thought, 'Let's do the complete opposite and be as literal as possible. I think it worked because the lyrics are so absurd." In some places, the lyrics are subtitled on the screen... incorrectly. This was done on purpose.

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