Poetic Devices in Noah Kahan’s Latest Album: The Great Divide (The Last of the Bugs)

It’s a sad bug summer!

If you haven’t heard, Noah Kahan’s latest album, The Great Divide, came out on April 24th with bonus songs releasing the next day on a deluxe version of the album. He’s now touring across America, and I was very fortunate to get tickets to one of his concerts in a couple weeks!

To share my excitement about the concert and my love for the lyricism in this album, I’ve compiled some of my favorite lyrics and their literary devices to highlight how effective they are at heightening emotion. We can all learn from each others’ work! I know I’ve definitely gotten inspiration from Noah Kahan for my poetry.

Without further ado, here is a poetry editor’s compilation of Noah Kahan’s poetic devices!

Orbiter

Juxtaposition

“I'm on alien ground

I'm a college kid

With my windows down

I'm an astronaut

You're the moon”

I love the juxtaposition in these lyrics. Alien ground brings to mind an image of being unsure in a new place, while a college kid with their windows down is uninhibited, free. Then an astronaut, usually attached to a tether while in space, is circling something that is grounding to them, their moon. These three images are all quite different, yet encompassing of the experience of stardom the speaker is describing.

Willing and Able

Repetition

“I'd be willing and able

I'd be willing and able

I'd be willing and able

I'd be willing and able

I'd be willing and able

I'd be willing and able

I'd be willing and able

If you're willing, I'm able”

The ending might be one of my favorite parts of this song. The repetition is so guttural because he spent the rest of the song setting up exactly what he is willing and able to do. The ending is the speaker’s last resort: begging. Pronouncing. Promising.

Haircut

Simile

“I'm happy for your haircut

I'm glad you got your act cleaned

You're showing up like bad news

And leaving like a bad dream”

Similes (metaphors using like or as) emphasize relationships. Using similes instead of metaphors puts some distance between the subject and what they are compared to—they are like a bad dream, but they are still them. They aren’t “just” a bad dream.

Similes can also be used for rhythmic purposes, adding in extra syllables where needed for flow.

Downfall

Allusion

“Roadkill fawn, you said how sad

Left to rot alone like that”

All Them Horses

Allusion

“Rubbed my eyes on 89

Double yellow murdered deer”

I highly recommend you listen to these two songs back to back, as they seem to be different perspectives of the same concept. Both songs open with character on a plane, and they both describe traveling and a dead deer. Most allusions are references to things outside the text, but in this case the deer mentions are allusions to another song on the album, creating another layer of meaning. This is similar to how poets often allude to other poems within a collection.

Paid Time Off

Simile and Metaphor

“And your love is like an open flame

I'm a running car, you're a closed garage”

Noah Kahan often uses the “I’m this, you’re that” format for his metaphors, which is really effective at highlighting differences but also similarities and relationships. This comparison depicts a toxic relationship, while “I’m an astronaut, you’re the moon” depicts a grounding, healthy one.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful summer! Hopefully your favorite music inspires your writing as well.

If you need a copy editor, proofreader, or sensitivity writer for your manuscript, reach out here!

I also just had a poem published in Two Cardinals Literary! Go check it out here.

Happy writing <3