In this lesson, we will look at how to play “Riptide” by Vance Joy on the guitar.
Released in the year 2013, Riptide is Vance Joy’s one of the biggest hits. The great thing is you need only 4 open chords to play the whole song.
Below I have mentioned everything you need to know to learn this song from start to end. From its chords to strumming patterns to its video lesson.
So, let’s look at its chords first.
Riptide Chords ( Capo -1 )
As you can see the chords for Riptide are A minor, G major, C major, and F major7. All of these are open chords and will not take much time to master.
Riptide Strumming Pattern
Though this song has three strumming patterns, all of them are easy to play. Refer to the video at the end of the post to learn these patterns.
- 1st pattern – D D UDU ( Intro, Verse, Pre Chorus )
- 2nd pattern – D XU UDU ( Chorus )
- 3rd pattern – D DU UDU UDUDUD (Bridge)
Riptide Lyrics with Chords
[Verse 1]
[Am]I was scared of [G]dentists and the [C]dark
[Am]I was scared of [G]pretty girls and [C]starting conversations
Oh, [Am]all my frie[G]nds are turning [C]green
You're the [Am]magician's a[G]ssistant in their [C]dream
[Pre-Chorus]
[Am]Ooh, [G]ooh, [C]Ooh
[Am]Ooh, [G]ooh, and they [C]come unstuck
[Chorus]
[Am]Lady, [G]running down to the [C]riptide
Taken away to the [Am]dark side
[G]I wanna be your [C]left hand man
I [Am]love you, [G]when you're singing that [C]song and
I got a lump in my [Am]throat 'cause
[G]You're gonna sing the words [C]wrong
[Verse 2]
[Am]There's this movie [G]that I think you'll [C]like
This [Am]guy decides to [G]quit his job and [C]heads to New York City
This [Am]cowboy's [G]running from [C]himself
And [Am]she's been living [G]on the highest [C]shelf
[Pre-Chorus]
[Am]Ooh, [G]ooh, [C]Ooh
[Am]Ooh, [G]ooh, and they [C]come unstuck
[Chorus]
[Am]Lady, [G]running down to the [C]riptide
Taken away to the [Am]dark side
[G]I wanna be your [C]left hand man
I [Am]love you, [G]when you're singing that [C]song and
I got a lump in my [Am]throat 'cause
[G]You're gonna sing the [C]words wrong
[Bridge]
[Am]I just wanna, I just wanna [G]know
[C]If you're gonna, if you're gonna [F]stay
[Am]I just gotta, I just gotta [G]know
[C]I can't have it, I can't have it, [F]any other way
[Pre-Chorus] (strum once and hold)
I [Am]swear she's [G]destined for the [C]screen
[Am]Closest thing to [G]Michelle Pfeiffer [C]that you've ever seen, oh
[Chorus]
[Am]Lady, [G]running down to the [C]riptide
Taken away to the [Am]dark side
[G]I wanna be your [C]left hand man
I [Am]love you, [G]when you're singing that [C]song and
I got a lump in my [Am]throat 'cause
[G]You're gonna sing the words [C]wrong
[Am]Lady, [G]running down to the [C]riptide
Taken away to the [Am]dark side
[G]I wanna be your [C]left hand man
I [Am]love you, [G]when you're singing that [C]song and
I got a lump in my [Am]throat 'cause
[G]You're gonna sing the words [C]wrong
[Am]Lady, [G]running down to the [C]riptide
Taken away to the [Am]dark side
[G]I wanna be your [C]left hand man
I [Am]love you, [G]when you're singing that [C]song and
I got a lump in my [Am]throat 'cause
[G]You're gonna sing the words [C]wrong, yeah
I got a lump in my [Am]throat 'cause
[G]You're gonna sing the words [C]wrong
