Spotlight Song: “The Great Divide” by Noah Kahan
February 2nd, 2026
Welcome to our Spotlight Song!
On Mondays, Musicians Found shines a light on a new song that we’re sure you’ll enjoy. With a mix of emerging and established musicians, you might just find your new favourite artist.
Are you a musician with a song you’d like us to feature? Apply here.
Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide Echoes His Signature Style in a Fresh Way
You’ve probably heard the chorus of Noah Kahan’s long-awaited new song, The Great Divide, echoing across TikTok. The title-track of his upcoming album, The Great Divide is an honest and vulnerable look at a complex relationship between two people, and the intimacy you can feel with someone you’re no longer in touch with.
With string lines that mirror each other from octaves apart, the initial melody of the song already showcases a duality that is carried throughout the song. An electric guitar chord progression drives the song forward through the opening verses, which begin to define the relationship between the narrator and the person they’re singing to.
The descriptive lyrics make it easy to visualize a road trip between two people who feel emotionally distant despite their physical closeness.
The Great Divide Explores the False Intimacy Between Estranged Friends
The song explores the false intimacy of shared experiences, especially negative ones. It’s easy to feel connected to someone who has been hurt by the same things that have hurt you - but soon you realize you’re both tethered to the experience, not to each other.
The lyrics highlight the profound loneliness that comes from feeling far away from someone who is sitting right next to you.
As the pre-chorus ramps up, the instrumental is filled out with heavy drums, reminiscent of a heartbeat that continues through the melancholic chorus. The repeating chorus tackles the bittersweet feeling of wanting the best for someone you’re no longer close to, how you hope they create a beautiful life even if that life doesn’t include you.
What Are You Scared Of?
The second verse brings my favourite lyric of the whole song: “They only shoot the birds who cannot sing.” If someone doesn’t perform the way society wants them to, they’re punished for it. A lack of understanding is easy to translate into a lack of worth. People we don’t understand become our first targets.
Still, the deeply personal metaphors in the lyrics are vague enough to be universally relatable, and the song includes many different lyrics like this one that can be understood in a myriad of ways.
One of my favourite parts of witnessing the early reception of this song is just how many different identities have been attributed to the character Noah is singing to. Some listeners experience it as a song about someone with depression, someone exploring their sexuality, someone struggling with addiction, or someone with religious trauma. The song could be about all these things or none of them, and the beauty is that it brings all these different perspectives together into one relatable experience. I imagine it’s the kind of song that will have people cathartically singing together in a huge concert venue, the same lyrics answering a thousand different questions.
Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide Comes out April 24th
In the closing verse of the song, the narrator admits his own shortcomings in the relationship, and hopes that whoever fills his shoes is exactly what the other person needs.
Sometimes, we can only gain the perspective we need to understand someone else through the passage of time. Even (or especially) when that time creates distance from the very person we sought to understand.
With deeply touching lyrics supported by a gorgeous instrumental background, The Great Divide is a strong first single to lead Noah Kahan’s latest project. If this song is any indication of what we have in store on the rest of the album, I personally can’t wait for April 24th.
Continue Reading:
Musicians Featured: Scott Helman on Music, Connection, and the Power of Sharing Our Voices
Spotlight Song: What’s a Good Life by Post Animal
