Vance Joy, whose real name is James Kirkpatrick, began his music career in 2013 when he released his debut single “From Afar”. However, the song “Riptide” brought him real fame, which later became a hit around the world. The composition for a long time occupied the top of the music charts in Australia, the USA and the UK, and also became platinum in various countries.
Vance Joy was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. Even before starting to write his own music, he received a bachelor’s degree in law and business. However, music has always been his passion and he started writing songs in his spare time. In his lyrics, Vance Joy addresses themes related to love, separation and interpersonal relationships, and also uses many interesting metaphors and images.
History of Vance Joy — Riptide
Despite the fact that the song was released in 2013, its creation began much earlier – in 2008. In 2012, artist Vance decided to combine the new ideas he was working on at the time with the original 2008 draft of “Riptide”. He uploaded the raw version of the song to his personal Facebook page and received numerous positive reviews from friends and family members.
Ultimately, Joy recorded and produced the song with drummer Edwin White in just one evening at Red Door Studios in Melbourne. The title of the song was inspired by the motel of the same name that Vance and his family stayed at when he was younger.
The song was released as part of Vance Joy’s debut mini-album God Loves You When You’re Dancing and quickly became popular. It reached the top 10 on several charts, including number one on the UK Indie (OCC), US Rock Airplay (Billboard) and US Alternative Airplay (Billboard). Since then, “Riptide” has become one of Joy’s best-known songs and continues to be popular with listeners around the world.
Vance Joy – Riptide
The meaning of the song “Riptide” can be interpreted in different ways. But we can say with confidence – she talks about the difficulties and trials during a romantic relationship.
“I was scared of dentists and the dark, I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations” – “I was afraid of dentists and the dark, I was afraid to start a conversation with beautiful girls.”
In 2008, Vance wrote the first two lines, but he said he “didn’t think too hard” about them at the time. However, over time, they turned into a full-fledged song. The performer said in an interview: “These lines seemed to come out of nowhere, but subconsciously I felt that they came from real life experience.”
Fear of the dark and doctors are among the most common phobias in the world, ranking 35th and 57th on the list. “I think a lot of kids have a fear of the dark and dentists,” Joy told News.com.au. “Dentists don’t scare me anymore, but even now I look over my shoulder when I’m in the dark. Now I feel more confident, but talking to beautiful girls still causes some anxiety.”
Oh , all my friends are turning green , you ‘re the magician ‘s assistant in their dream _ _ _ _
His friends turned green with envy when they saw what a gorgeous girl their friend had conquered.
Usually, the wizard’s assistant is an attractive woman, who is designed to distract the attention of the audience from things that should not be divulged or shown. The fact that this woman appears in dreams gives her beauty something supernatural.
These lines arose from an acquaintance with a girl whom Vance met through his friend. She turned out to be the magician’s assistant and inspired him to create.
” Oh, oh- o- oh, and they come unstuck” – “Oh, and now they are all out of work.”
“Out of work” most likely means breaking ties with envious friends after he fell into the maelstrom of love.
Lady, running down to the riptide, taken away to the dark side
The phenomenon, after which the hotel was named, is the ocean current, which often draws people swimming on the beach and leads to drowning. According to statistics, these currents lead to more than 150 deaths annually in the United States.
In her song, Vance alludes to the fact that a woman, in a metaphorical sense, risks drowning by adopting a risky and dangerous lifestyle.
“I wanna be your left hand man” – “I want to be your left hand.”
This is a corruption of the well-known phrase “right hand”. While the right hand is considered more stable and reliable, the left hand represents something unpredictable yet exciting.
This is also an allusion to marriage, since the wedding ring is worn on the left finger, and when passing to the wedding altar, the groom holds the bride by her left hand. The man clearly wants a closer connection between him and the girl.
In an interview, Vance revealed that the idea for the song came to him after talking with Aunt Shari during a Christmas celebration a few years ago. The aunt mentioned that her partner is her “left hand”.
” 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 “ because you will sing the wrong words.”
These lines indicate that he is ready to stay with his beloved, even despite her shortcomings. Perhaps he even finds charm in her little mistakes.
The music video for the song shows the girl gradually getting more and more disheveled as this phrase is repeated over the course of the song – eventually she does start to sing the words wrong.
“I swear she ‘s destined for the screen, closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you ‘ve ever seen , oh “
In these lines, Vance equates his girlfriend with Michelle Pfeiffer, a gorgeous actress who appeared on screen in films like Scarface and Batman Returns. Vance revealed that Pfeiffer’s name was inspired by his childhood love of Catwoman.
