Lay It on Me (Vance Joy song)

"Lay It on Me"
Single by Vance Joy
from the album Nation of Two
Released	12 July 2017
Genre	Indie
Length	3:34
Label	Liberation Music
Songwriters	Dave Bassett James Keogh
Producer	James Keogh
Vance Joy singles chronology
"Straight into Your Arms" (2016) "Lay It on Me" (2017) "Like Gold" (2017)
Music video
"Lay It on Me" on YouTube

"Lay It on Me" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy and released on 12 July 2017. ^[1] It is the first single from his album Nation of Two . ^[2]

The song premiered on Triple J on 13 July 2017, and is about being in a relationship and letting your defences down. Joy said "Lay It on Me" was recorded in Malibu, California and came together on the basis of an old phone recording looking for a home. "I wrote the guitar riff for this song in 2012 [and] I tried to write lyrics to it for ages. I remember being at SXSW in 2013/4 and just that riff was still there. The start of this year it all came together... once you have the right lyrics and ingredients the song comes together really quickly. I think Paul Kelly described them as odd socks, you have them lying around looking for another match." ^[3]

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, the song was nominated for Song of the Year. ^{[4] [5]}

Music video

The video was directed by Mimi Cave and was released on 12 July 2017. ^[6]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2017–18)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA) [7]	18
Canada Rock ( Billboard ) [8]	7
US Adult Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [9]	31
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [10]	12
US Rock & Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [11]	6

Year-end charts

Chart (2017)	Position
Australia (ARIA) [12]	90
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard) [13]	46
US Rock Airplay (Billboard) [14]	24

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [15]	4× Platinum	280,000‡
Canada (Music Canada) [16]	2× Platinum	160,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ) [17]	Platinum	30,000‡
United States (RIAA) [18]	Gold	500,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Lay It on Me (single)". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
2. Brandle, Lars (6 November 2017). "Vance Joy Sets Sophomore Album 'Nation of Two,' Shares New Track 'Like Gold'". Billboard. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
3. "First listen: Vance Joy 'Lay It On Me'". ABC. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
4. "2018 ARIA AWARDS The Nominees". auspOp. 11 October 2018. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
5. "2018 ARIA AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED". ARIA. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
6. "Vance Joy – Lay It On Me [Official Video]". YouTube. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
7. "Vance Joy – Lay It on Me". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
8. "Vance Joy Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
9. "Vance Joy Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
10. "Vance Joy Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
11. "Vance Joy Chart History (Rock & Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
12. "ARIA End of Year Singles 2017". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
13. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
14. "Rock Airplay Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
15. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2021 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 11 July 2021.
16. "Canadian single certifications – Vance Joy – Lay It on Me". Music Canada . Retrieved 19 April 2022.
17. "New Zealand single certifications – Vance Joy – Lay It on Me". Radioscope. Retrieved 8 April 2025.Type Lay It on Me in the "Search:" fieldand press Enter.
18. "American single certifications – Vance Joy – Lay It on Me". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 1 February 2021.