Roll Up Your Sleeves (song)

"Roll Up Your Sleeves"
Single by Meg Mac
from the album MegMac (EP)
Released	1 July 2014 (2014-07-01)
Length	3:05
Label	littleBIGMAN, Inertia
Songwriter(s)	Megan Sullivan McInerney (Meg Mac)
Meg Mac singles chronology
"Every Lie" (2013) "Roll Up Your Sleeves" (2014) "Never Be" (2015)
Music video
"Roll Up Your Sleeves" on YouTube

"Roll Up Your Sleeves" is a song recorded by Australian singer Meg Mac for her extended play, MegMac . The song was released for digital download on 1 July 2014. ^[1] "Roll Up Your Sleeves" gave Mac her first ARIA Charts entry, peaking at number 80. The song was voted in at number 24 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2014.

In an interview with Rolling Stone Australia, Mac described the song saying; “I feel like I wrote this song from myself to myself as some sort of reminder. Doing the right thing is hard and sometimes it is way easier to pretend you don't give a shit. Deep down I think we all give a shit and that everything has to be alright if you want it to be. I do really believe that.” ^[2]

Meg also said it is the quickest song she has ever written. ^[3]

The song placed second in the 2014 Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition. ^[4]

Reviews

The track has been described as “a dark soul ballad enriched by a warm, breathy refrain, the piano-led single stands in radiant contrast to the grit of powerhouse stomper, “Every Lie”” ^[5]

In a review on Triple J, it was described as “punchy and empowering". ^[6]

Nastassia Baroni of Music Feeds said; “This new single follows up tracks "Known Better" and "Every Lie" and it's laced with as much bluesy soul as its predecessors. Led by a simple driving piano, [Mac's] powerful and soaring vocals demand all the attention.” ^[7]

Zara Golden from The Fader described the song as “a folky, infectious just-do-you anthem.” ^[8]

Music video

The black and white music video for “Roll Up Your Sleeves” was directed by Tobias Andersson and released on 14 July 2014. ^[9]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA) [10]	80
Australian Independent Chart (AIR) [11]	3

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [12]	Platinum	70,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Covers

Urthboy (featuring Hermitude, All Our Exes Live in Texas, Tom Thum and Kira Puru) covered the song in December 2015 as part of Triple J’s ‘Like a Version’. ^[13]

References

1. "Roll Up Your Sleeves (single) by Meg Mac". iTunes Australia. Archived from the original on January 27, 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
2. "Track by Track: Meg Mac 'MEGMAC' EP". rollingstoneaus.com. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
3. "Meg Mac Talks "Roll Up Your Sleeves," Landing A US Record Deal & Her Debut Album: Idolator Interview". Mike Wass. www.idolator.com. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
4. "Past Winners". APRA AMCOS . Retrieved 13 March 2021.
5. "'Roll Up Your Sleeves' – Meg Mac". www.likewhatmanagement.com. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
6. "Hear: Meg Mac's new single 'Roll Up Your Sleeves'". www.abc.net.au. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
7. "Listen To Meg Mac's Killer New Single 'Roll Up Your Sleeves'". musicfeeds.com.au. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
8. "Meg Mac Drops The Freak In Her "Roll Up Your Sleeves" Video". www.thefader.com. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
9. "MEG MAC - Roll Up Your Sleeves [Music Video]". www.youtube.com. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
10. Ryan, Gavin (15 August 2015). "ARIA Singles: Delta Goodrem 'Wings' Tops Australian Chart". Noise11. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
11. "100% INDEPENDENT SINGLES The week beginning 25 August 2014". www.air.org.au. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
12. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
13. "Urthboy & His All-Star Crew Cover Meg Mac For Epic Final 'Like A Version' Of 2015". musicfeeds.com.au. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2016.