Few artists can evoke a sense of longing and nostalgia quite like folk-pop singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, and as his music has grown in popularity, it’s only gotten more raw.
He’s a master of spinning narratives with a confessional, diaristic feel. Though each note evokes the New England setting of his story, there’s also a universality and reliability to his writing that simply can’t be ignored.
Whether you’re a long-time fan or only fell in love with his music with the release of his new album, The Great Divide, his talent can’t be denied.
We’ve collected more than 115 of our all-time favorite Noah lyrics from the new album and beyond—and shared how to use them as Instagram captions—below.
(Photo credit: Patrick McCormack)
For carrying their memory with you, no matter how much time passes:
“I carry you on with me. I promised you I would, and I do.”
-“Draw You Out”
For the joy of keeping someone’s memory alive:
“I draw you out from the edge of my mouth. It feels good to say your name. It’s all I have now, what a wonderful sound it makes.”
-“Draw You Out”
For inheriting certain issues from your parents:
“I was born with someone else’s face. A coward’s anger and a fighter’s rage.”
-“Draw You Out”
For considering the nature of life:
“No one tells you just how long you’ll last. Some go slowly, and some far too fast.”
-“Draw You Out”
For having your amplified through connection:
“No one’s voice is ever really heard ’til the whole world’s screamin’ it.”
-“Draw You Out”
For making big plans but never making them real:
“We never do anythin’ real, we just talk about it.”
-“End of August”
For realizing there’s always an opportunity:
“I thought gettin’ older meant knowin’ it’s too late to try.”
-“End of August”
For recognizing the impermanence of life:
“Whoa, everythin’ you see out hеre will die. Oh, it’s a matter of time.”
-“End of August”
For promising to always be there for them:
“And anythin’ you need, I will provide, a ride home or an alibi.”
-“End of August”
For a town that stays the same as the generations keep coming:
“It’s a place where most kids just grow up and have kids who grow up and have kids.”
-“End of August”
For when your hometown really begins to feel like it’s yours:
“And it’s our town, ’cause it’s ours now.”
-“End of August”
For that throwback pic of playing pretend:
“I grew up pretendin’ sticks were little guns.”
-“Doors”
For always knowing hard times:
“I was born into a one-hundred-year storm.”
-“Doors”
For when they stay, despite all the reasons you’ve given them to leave:
“I keep showin’ you doors, but you can’t open them up.”
-“Doors”
For when they keep coming back for more:
“I just live here, babe, but you’re the one who decided to knock.”
-“Doors”
For isolating yourself more and more:
“I was workin’ on a plan to disappear completely, gaslightin’ my friends into thinkin’ I was busy.”
-“American Cars”
For the one who’s always there to solve your problems:
“‘Cause you’re gonna fix it, you’re gonna patch it up. ‘Cause, honey, we’re fragile, you’ve always been so tough.”
-“American Cars”
For that moody shot out the plane’s window:
“There’s somethin’ ’bout the window seats got you feeling like a poet.”
-“Downfall”
For realizing they just don’t get you:
“You know you never really could quite place when I’m angry and I’m jokin’.”
-“Downfall”
For knowing they won’t stay gone:
“I’m glad you lеft, but you’ll be back.”
-“Downfall”
For watching your town turn into something else:
“They’re turning your house into a parking lot.”
-“Lighthouse”
For the one who was never going to stick around:
“You were born with a face made for a ‘Missing’ sign.”
-“Lighthouse”
For when you can’t say what you need to:
“I called you, but I’d run out of words, so I stared at the plastic collidin’ with dirt.”
-“Paid Time Off”
For being too scared to see what the world actually has to offer:
“Someonе once told us there’s a world out thеre, but we don’t care enough to drive that far.”
-“Paid Time Off”
For barely noticing the people who leave your life:
“People grow up and then move away, but you don’t care, and I don’t mind at all.”
-“Paid Time Off”
For seeing someone fully:
“Lately, I’ve been lookin’ at you harder, just takin’ you in.”
-“Staying Still”
For those afternoon blues:
“I always hated the sunlight at 3 p.m. where it’s too soon to quit thinkin’, too late to change anythin’.”
-“Staying Still”
For being brought together by common vices:
“We ain’t friends, we’re just morons, who broke skin in the same spot.”
-“The Great Divide”
For attempting to get to know someone, despite the walls they put up:
“I tried to read the thoughts that you’d worked overtime to stop.”
-“The Great Divide”
For reflecting on misreading someone:
“You know I think about you all the time and my deep misunderstanding of your life.”
-“The Great Divide”
For wishing someone the best:
“I hope you sеttle down, I hope you marry rich.”
-“The Great Divide”
For feeling punished for not living up to some imaginary goal:
“But the world is scared of hesitating things. Yeah, they only shoot the birds who cannot sing.”
-“The Great Divide”
For defiance of the rules and living your truth:
“I hope you threw a brick right into that stained glass.”
-“The Great Divide”
For not acting selflessly:
“I tried to heal your wounds just to say I helped.”
-“Haircut”
For refusing to sell out:
“But at least I got a soul still, even if I’m in a bad placе.”
-“Haircut”
Also read about: 26 Memorable Quotes From Noah Kahan: Out of Body on Netflix
For wondering if it’s easier when you’re not around:
“Oh, when my weight left the room, did you take a deep breath?”
-“Willing and Able”
For feeling ready to hash out a tough but important discussion:
“I’m willing and able if you wanna kick this rock around.”
-“Willing and Able”
For yearning for true understanding:
“Oh, I wish you could know me and I wish I could know you much more sometimes.”
-“Willing and Able”
For when they refuse to do anything that’s hard:
“You always went lookin’ for an easy way out, leave the pain you can’t solve with the folks you let down.”
-“Dashboard”
For falling into the exact same patterns in a new place:
“All your new friends look a lot likе your last, and I wonder why.”
-“Dashboard”
For when they don’t actually want to be heard:
“Speak their minds and pretend they were misunderstood.”
-“23”
For watching someone’s whole life unfold online:
“I would ask you how you’ve been, it’s all over the internet.”
-“Porch Light”
For continuously waiting for that person to walk back into your life:
“I’ll leave the porch light on, heartbroken each morning when it’s me that turns it off.”
-“Porch Light”
For itching to fight someone who don’t take the bait:
“I wanna drop the gloves, but you’re far too patient.”
-“Deny Deny Deny”
For wanting to understand the darker sign of your own mind:
“I wanna know the dark that I share a brain with.”
-“Deny Deny Deny”
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For having nothing to do and missing someone:
“No, there ain’t nothin’ to report, but I hope you’re bored and headed north.”
-“Headed North”
For wishing they were there to help you make good decisions:
“Need somebody here to talk me out of things I can’t undo.”
-“Headed North”
For when the beauty of traveling the world doesn’t compare to the one you love:
“Saw the world from up close, it ain’t much to look at compared to you in your work clothes, wavin’ hello from the driveway.”
-“We Go Way Back”
For knowing the love you have is real:
“Oh, I love you and I can’t fake that for a moment.”
-“We Go Way Back”
For wanting to be more than where you come from:
“Where I’m from and what I’m worth have gotten too damn intertwined.”
-“Spoiled”
For knowing wealth can come in many forms:
“Gonna be rich, in our own way.”
-“Spoiled”
For singing along to the songs that reflect your sorrow:
“Gonna dance around and sing about my pain.”
-“All Them Horses”
For the smile that hides your true feelings:
“Oh, everyone looks happy in a photograph.”
-“All Them Horses”
For having the whole future in front of you:
“‘Oh, my, my, what a time to be alive,’ young and dumb on the edge of the world.”
-“A Few of Your Own”
For looking forward to a new generation of storytellers:
“Wish me well, tell the stories I would tell. Go ahead, make a few of your own.”
-“A Few of Your Own”
For that selfie you almost refused to post:
“I look exhausted. Oh, stiff and awkward on the outside of the moment.”
-“Orbiter”
For struggling to define your own worth:
“Some will never know they’re beautiful until the crowd points it out for them.”
-“Orbiter”
For the one you’re always drawn to:
“I’m an astronaut, you’re the Moon. I starе at you, I sing to you, I circle you.”
-“Orbiter”
For that long-awaiting reunion:
“You’ve been the best five minutes of a s***** old year.”
-“Dan”
For when you’re trying, but just can’t get someone out of your head:
“I’m rememberin’ I promised to forget you now.”
-“Dial Drunk”
For going on an impromptu drive:
“Let’s drive for no reason, let’s see where these wheels land.”
-“Forever”
For when they just don’t love you the way they used to:
“You must’ve had yourself a change of heart like halfway through the drive.”
-“Stick Season”
For wanting to know absolutely everything about someone:
“I’m in love with every song you’ve ever heard.”
-“Strawberry Wine”
For clinging to that bit of hope:
“Don’t let this darkness fool you. All lights turned off can be turned on.”
-“Call Your Mom”
For trying to leave bad habits in the past:
“Don’t let those demons in again.”
-“False Confidence”
For the love you know will last:
“Now I’m glad I get forever to see where you end.”
-“Forever”
For when you can’t forgive yourself for hurting someone:
“‘Cause it hurts when you hurt somebody.”
-“Hurt Somebody”
For the town that isn’t what it used to be:
“This place had a heartbeat in its day.”
-“Paul Revere”
For when you just can’t pretend that everything is okay:
“The world has changed. Don’t you find it strange that you just went ahead and carried on?”
-“Orange Juice”
For when you can’t let go:
“Why am I so obsessive? Hanging on to every sentence.”
-“She Calls Me Back”
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For when they’re suddenly a stranger:
“Now I know your name, but not who you are.”
“All My Love”
For when you’ve been lying to yourself:
“I thought I had something and that’s the same as having something.”
-“No Complaints”
For trying your best to overcome your vices:
“It takes a strong hand and a sound mind.”
-“You’re Gonna Go Far”
For dearly missing someone:
“Feels like I’ve been ready for you to come home for so long.”
-“Orange Juice”
For letting go of someone really special:
“You were a work of art. That’s the hardest part.”
-“Your Needs, My Needs”
For when quiet moments always have you ruminating on the past:
“Ooh, silence is making me nostalgic.”
-New Perspective”
For promising to love them even beyond the grave:
“I wanna lovе you ’til we’re food for the worms to eat.”
“Everywhere, Everything”
For trying to loosen up:
“Don’t take yourself so seriously.”
-“False Confidence”
For when it feels like the past is grasping at you:
“A left at the graveyard, I’m driving past ghosts, their arms are extended, my eyes start to close.”
-“The View Between Villages”
For when someone special goes off to college:
“You’re the greatest thing we’ve lost.”
“You’re Gonna Go Far”
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For when you have a breakthrough with someone:
“Stayed on the line with you the entire night ’til you let it out and let it in.”
-“Call Your Mom”
For getting chatty when the opportunity arises:
“I’m sayin’ too much, but you know how it gets out here.”
-“All My Love”
For when it feels someone’s memory will be with you forever:
“You’ll always be a flower on my skin.”
-“Your Needs, My Needs”
For when you’re starting to feel old:
“The college kids are getting so young, ain’t they?”
-“You’re Gonna Go Far”
For feeling changed by love:
“No thing definеs a man like love that makes him soft.”
-“Strawberry Wine”
For when things get easier the less you mind:
“I stopped caring ’bout a month ago. Sincе then it’s been smooth sailing.”
“Homesick”
For boosting someone up in tough times:
“Oh, dear, don’t be discouraged. I’ve been exactly where you are.”
-“Call Your Mom”
For feeling completely drained, but persisting anyway:
“Oh, if my engine works perfect on empty, I guess I’ll drive.”
-“Growing Sideways”
For choosing love above all else:
“Everywhere, everything, I wanna love you.”
-“Everywhere, Everything”
For when you’re just going through the motions:
“You settle into routine. Where are you? What does it mean?”
-“Northern Attitude”
For the moment that brings back a wave of nostalgia:
“For a minute, the world seemed so simple. Feel the rush of my blood, I’m seventeen again.”
-“The View Between Villages”
For when wisdom trumps wealth:
“I’m broke, but I’m real rich in my head.”
-“Forever”
For when you hide your true self to keep people around:
“Taking it slowly. I’m afraid to be lonely.”
-“Hurt Somebody”
For when you’ve started the process of healing:
“Oh, but I finally got sewed up.”
-“No Complaints”
For being a little too used to the bleakness and cold:
“If the sun don’t rise ’til the summertime, forgive my northern attitude, oh, I was raised on little light.”
-“Northern Attitude”
For not planning to stick around:
“I would leave if only I could find a reason.”
-“Homesick”
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For when the dreary weather reminds you of them:
“I am terrified of weather ’cause I see you when it rains.”
-“Stick Season”
For finally taking the mask off:
“I’m untethering from the parts of me you’d recognize.”
-“Dial Drunk”
For the crushing nostalgia of visiting home:
“The things that I lost here, the people I knew. They got me surrounded for a mile or two.”
-“The View Between Villages”
For becoming unrecognizable:
“When they ask me who I am, I’ll say, ‘I’m not from around here.'”
-“Paul Revere”
For when the world around you looks and feels dead:
“I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks.”
-“Stick Season”
For recognizing your lack of survival skills:
“Would we survive in a horror movie?”
-“Everywhere, Everything”
For feeling forgotten:
“I’m the tall glass of water you lost in your kitchen.”
-“Pain Is Cold Water”
For knowing there’s change and love in your future:
“I won’t be alone for the rest of my life.”
-“Forever”
For being avoidant:
“But I ignore things and I move sideways ’til I forget what I felt in the first place.”
-“Growing Sideways”
For when all you want is a redo:
“And now I lay myself down and hope I wake up young again.”
-“False Confidence”
For when your confidence fluctuates with the time of day:
“I spend nights stitching up the loose threads in my soul. In the morning, I’m bullet proof.”
-“Young Blood”
For yearning to get away:
“Let’s drive for no reason, let’s see where these wheels land.”
-“Forever”
For looking on the brighter side of things:
“Now, the weight of the world ain’t so bad.”
-“No Complaints”
For refusing to take the blame again:
“And it’s half my fault, but I just like to play the victim.”
-“Stick Season”
For offering your forgiveness:
“We ain’t angry at you, love. We’ll be waiting for you, love.”
-“You’re Gonna Go Far”
For receiving a chilly welcome:
“No winter coat could keep out all the cold of your atmosphere.”
-“All My Love”
For seeking your purpose:
“You’re here for a reason but you don’t know why.”
-“False Confidence”
For planning to leave everything behind:
“One day, I’m gonna cut it clear.”
-“Paul Revere”
For showing just how dreary it is in your neck of the woods:
“Every photograph that’s taken here is from the summer.”
-“Homesick”
For when your lives have refused to intersect:
“Lost for a long time, two parallel lines.”
-“She Calls Me Back”
For recognizing generational trauma:
“I’m still angry at my parents for what their parents did to them, but it’s a start.”
-“Growing Sideways”
For not being sure what you want:
“Darling, speak to me but don’t you say a word.”
-“Strawberry Wine”
For even more lyrics to use as captions, click HERE for all of our favorites from ZAYN to try out.
