Get the official lyrics for The Great Divide by Noah Kahan. Use this resource for singalongs and karaoke for the new Mercury Records release from the April album.
Noah Kahan provides the official lyrics for The Great Divide to support fans with singalongs and karaoke sessions. The songwriting describes a fractured friendship and the lingering guilt of unspoken thoughts during a time of personal struggle. By sharing these lyrics, the American singer and songwriter offers a clear window into the narrative of the five-minute track, which serves as the opening of his April album project. Gabe Simon and Aaron Dessner ensured the production highlights Kahan’s delivery, making the detailed text necessary for those following the story of the song.
noah kahan the great divide
The lyrics utilize imagery of cigarette burns and the Twin State line to ground the listener in a specific memory of shared recklessness and eventual distance. Kahan uses the text to confront his own misunderstanding of a friend’s life and the spiritual trauma that often goes unnoticed. Historically, the Vermont native has focused his writing on the complexities of small-town life and the difficulty of leaving things behind. These lyrics serve as the professional standard for listeners seeking to learn the correct wording of the Mercury Records release. Accessing the official lines allows the public to engage with the themes of religious trauma and personal resilience that define this new era. Providing these words facilitates a deeper connection with the artist as he navigates the chasm between his past and his current reality.
January 30, 2026
1 song, 5 minutes
℗ 2026 Mercury Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Lyric Video
Lyrics
[Verse 1: Noah Kahan]
I can’t recall the last time that we talked
About anything but looking out for cops
We got cigarette burns in the same side of our hands, we ain’t friends
We’re just morons, who broke skin in the same spot
But I’ve never seen you take a turn that wide
And I’m high enough to still care if I die
So I tried to read the thoughts that you’d worked overtime to stop
You said, “Fuck off,” and I said nothin’ for a while
[Pre-Chorus: Noah Kahan]
You know I think about you all the time
And my deep misunderstanding of your life
And how bad it must have been for you back then
And how hard it was to keep it all inside
[Chorus: Noah Kahan]
I hope you settle down, I hope you marry rich
I hope you’re scared of only ordinary shit
Like murderers and ghosts and cancer on your skin
And not your soul and what He might do with it
[Verse 2: Noah Kahan]
You inched yourself across the great divide
While we drove aimlessly along the Twin State line
I heard nothing but the bass in every ballad that you’d play
While you swore to God the singer read your mind
But the world is scared of hesitating things
Yeah, they only shoot the birds who cannot sing
And I’m finally aware of how shitty and unfair
It was to stare ahead like everything was fine
[Pre-Chorus: Noah Kahan]
You know I think about you all the time
And my deep misunderstanding of your life
And how bad it must have been for you back then
And how hard it was to keep it all inside
[Chorus: Noah Kahan & Dylan Jones]
I hope you settle down, I hope you marry rich (Oh-oh)
I hope you’re scared of only ordinary shit (Oh-oh)
Like murderers and ghosts and cancer on your skin (Oh-oh)
And not your soul and what He might do with it
[Post-Chorus: Noah Kahan]
Ah-oh
[Bridge: Noah Kahan]
Rage, in small ways
Did you wish that I could know
That you’d fade to some place
I wasn’t brave enough to go?
[Chorus: Noah Kahan]
I hope you settle down, I hope you marry rich
I hope you’re scared of only ordinary shit
Like murderers and ghosts and cancer on your skin
And not your soul and what He might do with it
[Post-Chorus: Noah Kahan & Dylan Jones]
Ah (Ah), woah
Ah
Ah, Lord
Ah
[Outro: Noah Kahan]
I hope you threw a brick right into that stained glass
I hope you’re with someone who isn’t scared to ask
I hope that you’re not losing sleep about what’s next
Or about your soul and what He might do with it
