"Riptide" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy. It was first released as a track on his debut EP God Loves You When You're Dancing (2013), serving as its second single, and is also featured on his debut studio album, Dream Your Life Away (2014). The song was written by Joy, who also produced it with drummer Edwin White. The upbeat song has been lyrically described as a "coming of age love story" and is known for its metaphors and pop culture references.
The song received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its lyrics, vocals and production and drew comparisons to singer-songwriters Paul Kelly and Jeff Buckley. "Riptide" would go on to have commercial success in Australia, peaking at number six on the ARIA singles chart and subsequently being named the number one song in radio station Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2013. The following year, "Riptide" also peaked at number ten in the United Kingdom and entered Billboards Alternative Songs chart, peaking at number 1. By May 2015, it was the second longest charting single still in the US Billboard Hot 100, appearing on that list for 43 weeks (at number 42 from its peak of number 30).
In May 2015, it was announced that "Riptide" had become the longest-charting song in ARIA Chart history, having remained in the top 100 for 107 weeks and counting. It surpassed the previous record of 106 weeks, held by "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga. In January 2016, the week count was at 120.
As of January 2018, the single has worldwide sales over 6,000,000. That month, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Riptide" was ranked number 94. In 2025, the song placed 48 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.
Description The song's first few chords and opening two lines were originally written at Joy's Glen Iris, Melbourne, home in 2008—the same song title was used, but he initially shelved the song. Years after his experience in university and a VFL career, Joy started doing open mic gigs in Melbourne, Australia, which eventually led to a legitimate music career.
When recording the song in 2012, a year before the EP came out, Joy was writing a song that reminded him of the shelved "Riptide" draft from 2008—he then combined the 2008 effort with his current project at the time. A rough version of the song was uploaded on his personal Facebook account. Although the singer uploaded "...just the first verse and chorus," the encouraging response from Joy's friends and family encouraged him to persist with his music. Joy initially recorded and produced the song with drummer Edwin White in just one afternoon at Red Door Studios, in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick. Additional production was subsequently completed by John Castle. In an interview, 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.
"Riptide" is an indie folk, folk-pop, twee pop, and indie pop song. Musically, the sheet music for the song shows that it is in the key of D major with a tempo of 100 beats per minute.Vance Joy "Riptide" Sheet Music Musicnotes.com Hannah Gilchrist of the Red Magazine says "...it feels like you should be sitting on a California beach drinking a bottle of beer while your friends frolic in the waves – no surprise it's inspired by the tracks of the 70s."
"Riptide" made its first chart appearance at 75 on the ARIA Singles Chart on 29 April 2013, later making its top 50 debut at 41 on 23 June. The song became a top 10 hit when charting at 10 on 28 July, peaking at number 7. For the remainder of the year, "Riptide" remained at the top 40 until on 2 February 2014, the song charted to a new peak of 6 from 35 in response to the song placed on the top of the Hottest 100 of 2013. The song holds the record for the most weeks in the top 100 of the ARIA Singles Chart (120 consecutive weeks), breaking the records previously held by Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" (106 weeks) and The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" (105 weeks), both of which were in non-consecutive runs. Worldwide, the single has sold over 1 million copies.
A music video to accompany the release of "Riptide" was first released onto YouTube on 2 April 2013, at a total length of three minutes and twenty-five seconds. The video, directed by Dimitri Basil and co-directed by Laura Gorun, artistically depicts the song word for word.Interview: Vance Joy – Pigeons & Planes (published 17 February 2014; accessed 18 July 2014) It was nominated for Best Video at the ARIA Music Awards of 2013.ARIA Award previous winners. Vance Joy performed "Riptide" at the ARIA Music Awards of 2013 in Star Event Centre. Quentin Alexander performed "Riptide" on the season 14 finale of American Idol on 13 May 2015.
The song has had enduring success in the charts and on digital platforms with over two billion plays on Spotify alone (at December 2023), being the most played Australian song of 2023. A representative for Vance Joy described the song's ongoing popularity having no particular catalyst and said "while the song is up 46 per cent compared to last year, they stress that there is no one TikTok video, pop culture moment or playlist responsible for the song gaining considerable momentum. Instead, the song has become ubiquitous across platforms over the last decade."
Tour
On 17 June 2013, Joy announced the Riptide Tour, his second as a solo artist. Before that, Joy was the opening act, between May and June, for the American singer Lissie's tour of the United States, on 27 July he appeared at the Splendour in the Grass in New South Wales and on 7 August he presented at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival in Canada. The tour began on 14 August 2013 in Adelaide, Australia at the Jive Bar and continued until 26 October 2013 in Paris, France. The following month and due to demand, Joy added more dates to his tour. During this period, he also opened for the Australian singer Bernard Fanning's Departures Tour on some dates and opened for Tom Odell on some dates during his tour in the United States.
Covers Taylor Swift performed a piano-based version of the song on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge segment on 9 October 2014. That version of the song consists of a piano, electric organ, shaker, and acoustic guitar. Stealth performed a cover of the song to be used in promotional content for the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians in 2023, likely in reference to the sword used by the series' protagonist, which shares its name with the song.
Track listings
Digital download "Riptide" – 3:24 "From Afar" – 4:24
Digital download (remix) "Riptide" (FlicFlac Remix) – 5:39
Germany CD single "Riptide" – 3:24 "Emmylou" – 4:40
"Snaggletooth" – 5:19 "From Afar" – 4:24 "Riptide" (FlicFlac Edit) – 5:39
United Kingdom digital download EP "Riptide" – 3:24 "Play with Fire" – 4:23 "Snaggletooth" – 5:19 "Emmylou" – 4:40 "From Afar" – 4:24
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2013–2017) PeakpositionCroatia International Airplay (Top lista)12Europe Digital Tracks (Billboard)16 Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)30 Norway (VG-lista)37 Slovenia (SloTop50) 7 Chart (2022–2026) Peakposition Israel (Mako Hitlist) 62 Latvia Streaming (LaIPA)15 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)69 + Weekly chart performance for "Riptide" Chart (2025–2026) Peakposition Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 123 Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit) 127 Latvia Airplay (TopHit) 2 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 48 North Macedonia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 14 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 127 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit) 119
Monthly charts + Monthly chart performance for "Riptide" Chart (2025) Peakposition Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 3 Latvia Airplay (TopHit) 3
Year-end charts Chart (2013) Position Australia (ARIA) 12 Chart (2014) Position Australia (ARIA) 55 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 26 Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 69 France (SNEP) 163 Germany (Official German Charts) 27 Ireland (IRMA)14 Israel International Airplay (Media Forest) 6 Italy (FIMI) 76 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 69 Poland (ZPAV) 36 Slovenia (SloTop50)19 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 26 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 38 UK Singles (OCC) 42 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard) 12 US Rock Airplay (Billboard) 7 Chart (2015) Position Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 37 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)100 US Billboard Hot 10071 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)44 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)30 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)8 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)10 Chart (2017) Position France (SNEP) 189 Chart (2021) Position UK Singles (OCC) 83 Chart (2022) Position Global 200 (Billboard) 116 UK Singles (OCC) 69 Chart (2023) Position Australia (ARIA) 52 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 45 Global 200 (Billboard) 101 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 81 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 28 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 35 UK Singles (OCC) 40 Chart (2024) Position Australia (ARIA) 24 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 50 France (SNEP) 126 Global 200 (Billboard) 75 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 79 Portugal (AFP) 121 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 33 UK Singles (OCC) 36 Chart (2025) Position Australia (ARIA) 68 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 124 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) 162 France (SNEP) 199 Global 200 (Billboard) 67 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 91 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 32 UK Singles (OCC) 73 + Year-end chart performance for "Riptide" Chart (2025) Peakposition Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 13 Latvia Airplay (TopHit) 37
Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position Australia (ARIA) 14 Australian Artist Singles (ARIA) 2 UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 65 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard) 34
Certifications
Release history Region Date Format Label United States 21 May 2013 Digital download Atlantic Records 7 October 2013 Adult album alternative radio United Kingdom 25 November 2013 Digital download Infectious Music United States 28 January 2014 Digital download Atlantic Records United Kingdom 10 March 2014 Digital download Germany 28 March 2014 Compact disc United States 1 April 2014 Modern rock radio 11 August 2014 Hot adult contemporary radio 30 September 2014 Contemporary hit radio
See also List of Australian chart achievements and milestones List of best-selling singles in Australia List of songs which have spent the most weeks on the UK Singles Chart
References