Song chords
Riptide chords
Vance Joy
Three chords, start to finish, with a capo at the first fret. There is no bridge that changes the harmony and no chorus that lifts it — the entire song is one loop played with different intensity.
Before you start
The chords you need.
3 shapes covers the whole song, fretted with the capo at fret 1. Tap any diagram’s play button to hear it, or open its page for every voicing on six instruments.
The chart
Section by section.
Capo 1, then Am–G–C. Written for ukulele and it shows: the changes are fast, the shapes are small, and the momentum comes from never stopping. Hit play on any section to hear it walk through at 102 bpm.
Verse
4 barsShapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Chorus
4 barsSame three chords — only the right hand changes.
Shapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Need it in a different key, or without the capo? Run it through the transposer — move every chord by the same interval and the song is unchanged.
Playing it
What actually trips people up.
Because nothing changes harmonically, the strumming has to. Play the verse with palm-muted downstrokes and open the right hand up for the chorus.
The chart above is the commonly played arrangement — the version a competent player would hand you, not a bar-for-bar transcription of a specific master. Section labels are there to orient you; live and studio versions repeat, extend and drop sections freely, and none of that changes which chords you need.
About this page
Chord names and song structure are facts; for lyrics and official notation, support the artist. This page carries no lyrics on purpose — Riptide was written and recorded by Vance Joy, and the words belong to them. What you get here is the harmony: the key, the capo, the tempo, and which chord goes where.
Next
Songs that sit near this one.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask.
What key is Riptide in?
Riptide sounds in Db Major. The common arrangement gets there with a capo at fret 1 and C Major shapes, which is why the chords written here are C Major chords rather than Db Major ones.
Do I need a capo for Riptide?
Yes for the standard arrangement: capo 1. Without it you would be playing Db Major shapes, which needs barre chords. With the capo on, the shapes are C Major — much friendlier under the hand.
What chords are in Riptide?
Am, G and C — 3 chords across 2 sections. Capo 1, then Am–G–C. Written for ukulele and it shows: the changes are fast, the shapes are small, and the momentum comes from never stopping.
What is the easiest way to play Riptide?
Beginner overall. Because nothing changes harmonically, the strumming has to. Play the verse with palm-muted downstrokes and open the right hand up for the chorus.
How fast is Riptide?
About 102 bpm. Every section on this page plays back at that tempo, so you can hear how long each chord is meant to be held before you try it yourself.
Can I play Riptide in a different key?
Yes — the progression is the song, not the letters. Move every chord by the same number of semitones and it still works. The transposer will do the arithmetic, or you can move the capo and keep these shapes.