'The Great Divide' Lyrics & Meaning: Noah Kahan Announces New Single & Album, Music Video to Premiere During Grammys 2026!
Noah Kahan is back with his new single, “The Great Divide”!
The 29-year-old singer-songwriter released his long-awaited new single on Friday (January 30), which is also the title track and lead single from his fourth studio album, out on April 24 via Mercury Records.
“The last five years have been the single most challenging, complicatedly beautiful, and life-altering of my career,” he said in a statement.
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“I was somewhere I understood, and suddenly I was somewhere completely foreign. I was living in the opportunity I always wanted but felt disoriented and unsure of whether I deserved it. Writing for this album was a balancing act of trying to go back in time and move forward in the same moment. Songwriting has always been the way I reflect on my life, and I hope these songs show you a glimpse of what this journey has looked like.”
The album was written amid the success of his Stick Season era, which was released in 2022.
The album was produced by acclaimed producer and Stick Season collaborator Gabe Simon and Aaron Dessner, and “explores Kahan’s evolving relationship with family, friends, home, and his sense of self.”
It was mostly recorded at a secluded farm outside Nashville, Gold Pacific Studio in Nashville and at Aaron Dessner‘s Long Pond Studio in New York.
“You know I think about you all the time / And my deep misunderstanding of your life,” he sings on the track.
“I hope you settle down, I hope you marry rich / I hope you’re scared of only ordinary s–t / Like murderers and ghosts and cancer on your skin / And not your soul and what He might do with it.”
An official release describes the song as “a reflection on childhood friendship, shame, guilt, separation, and the complicated truths tied to where he comes from. Those themes echo throughout The Great Divide, an album that transforms isolation into connection through vulnerable honesty.”
“The Great Divide” music video will premiere during Mastercard’s 2026 commercial break at the 2026 Grammys, airing Sunday (February 1) on CBS.
Noah and Mastercard will launch a sweepstakes beginning February 2, encouraging cardholders to find Easter Eggs in the “The Great Divide” music video for a chance to win prizes. Fans can head to priceless.com/noahkahan for details.
“The Great Divide” was written in early 2024, and first performed at his July 18, 2024 Fenway Park tour stop.
Listen to “The Great Divide”…
Read the lyrics to “The Great Divide”…