Noah Kahan has been making music for years, but recently, his music tumbled straight into the public eye for everyone to experience. Within a year, Kahan went from playing small amphitheaters to selling-out stadiums. His latest album, Stick Season, is a collection of heart-wrenching and emotional songs, and this article is going to unpack some of the best.
The Intersection got a Target…
“New Perspective” is a song that feels so upbeat that you can’t help but tap your foot along to the beat. A new perspective is usually a good thing, something that freshens your mindset or helps get you up in the morning. But Kahan instead sings about the new perspectives of everybody around him, and the way everything is changing while he sits still. He even mentions the paper bags drifting by in the wind, light and carefree, while he stays.
In the chorus, Kahan sings, “You and all of your new perspective now / Wish I could shut it in a closet / And drag you back down,” illustrating the way he can’t keep up with all the change. It feels real—many can likely relate to wishing things and people would just slow down every once in a while.
Well I’m tired of dirt roads…
“Homesick” by Kahan is a song that is wrapped up in the beautiful oxymoron of never wanting and always needing to leave; the eternal longing for something that you have somehow also left behind. Kahan sings about the complicated relationships he has with his hometown. He includes that he’s “tired of the dirt roads named after high school friends’ grandfathers” and how frustrated he is with how isolated everybody is from the world around them. Yet through the chorus he can’t get over the fact that while he travels, he’s so incredibly homesick.
Even as Kahan gets closer and closer with his home, learning every detail of its history down to an Olympic medal winner who grew up there, he still feels that ache of homesickness. And at the same time, he doesn’t blame the Olympic runner for getting out of his hometown as fast as he could. He even goes so far as to say that getting out of his hometown was likely “good motivation” for the runner.
That oxymoron of being homesick for where you are is something that many of Kahan’s fans relate to.
So pack up your car, put a hand on your heart…
“You’re Gonna Go Far,” is a ballad for the eldest daughters who moved away from home—or at least, that is the demographic on TikTok who posted video after video to this song, sharing how this song helped them heal. This song is, from the narrator’s perspective, a song to pay homage to somebody who is leaving town for something better. The song opens with a bitter note, but circles back to share the peace it brings him to know that his “love” as he addresses the person will be in a better place.
“You’re the greatest thing we’ve lost,” is a particularly powerful line with a dual meaning. It simultaneously has a tone of admiration while also holding an underlying ache of pain and emptiness. It’s a line and a message that has Kahan’s fans holding each other and crying at concerts.
Everything’s all right…
“She Calls Me Back,” is a song that gets fans jumping at concerts. The infectious scream-singing is accompanied by gestures as fans count out the fake phone number included in the song on their hands, which are held high in the air.
The song is about a toxic relationship with a person who is so addictive that the narrator can’t stop obsessing over them, however, the person in question rarely gives the narrator the time of day. The narrator finds themselves a mess more often than not, until the person inevitably calls back. Then, everything is okay… until she turns around and disappears again.
I’ll drive all night…
“Call your Mom” is a song that Kahan himself originally cut from his Stick Season Tour set list, saying it was too emotional for him to play live. Eventually, though, he came to the conclusion that he would push through with the hopes of showing at least one person in the audience that they aren’t alone with their mental health struggles.
The song is meant to provide motivation for people struggling with depression. In the lyrics, Kahan tries everything to show the person in the song how loved they are and how many support systems Kahan will build for them. One of the encouraging lyrics Kahan wrote is, “All lights turned off can be turned on.” It is meant to illustrate that darkness never lasts forever. Because it doesn’t.
Throughout all of Kahan’s music, mental health is an underlying theme. Kahan continues to be an advocate for mental health resources. If you or a loved one need support, there are resources available. Click the link below for more information.