Jan302026

Noah Kahan – The Great Divide Chords on Piano & Ukulele

KeyKeyCapo

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[Intro]
Em   G  Cmaj7  C
Em   G  Cmaj7  C

[Verse 1]
  G                Am  
I can't recall the last 
           G  Cmaj7
time that we talked
      G            Em     
About anything but looking
         Cmaj7
 out for cops
       G                 
We got cigarette burns in
     Am               Cmaj7
 the same side of our hands
We ain't friends, 
            G
we're just morons
          Em               Cmaj7
Who broke skin in the same spot
         G             
But I've never seen you 
 Am               Cmaj7
take a turn that wide
        G              Em   
And I'm high enough to still
           Cmaj7
 care if I die
     G                 Am       
So I tried to read the thoughts
                  Cmaj7
 that you'd worked overtime to stop
                G              
You said, "Fuck off," and I said
  Em            Cmaj7
 nothin' for a while

[Pre-Chorus]
                 G
You know I think about
 you all the time
Bm                    Cmaj7   
  And my deep misunderstanding 
              C
of your life
                         G
And how bad it must have been 
for you back then
Bm                       C
  And how hard it was to keep
 it all inside

[Chorus]
                          G
I hope you settle down, I hope 
you marry rich
Bm                    
  I hope you're scared 
         Cmaj7
of only ordinary shit
C                          
  Like murderers and ghosts
     G
 and cancer on your skin
Bm                         
  And not your soul and what
  Cmaj7
 He might do with it

[Interlude]
Em    G    C
Em   G   C

[Verse 2]
    G               Am    
You inched yourself across 
                  C
the great divide
               G        
While we drove aimlessly
  Am            C     Cmaj7
 along the Twin State line
        Cmaj7   G       Am  
I heard nothing but the bass
          C
 in every ballad that you'd play
          G                Am    
While you swore to God the singer 
      C         Cmaj7
read your mind
        G              
But the world is scared
    Am         C
 of hesitating things
           G             
Yeah, they only shoot the
 Am               C    Cmaj7
 birds who cannot sing
        G        Am     
And I'm finally aware of 
     Cmaj7
how shitty and unfair
          G               
It was to stare ahead like 
 Am             Cmaj7
everything was fine

[Pre-Chorus]
                 G
You know I think about
 you all the time
Bm                    Cmaj7   
  And my deep misunderstanding 
              C
of your life
                         G
And how bad it must have been 
for you back then
Bm                       C
  And how hard it was to keep
 it all inside

[Chorus]
                          G
I hope you settle down, I hope 
you marry rich
Bm                    
  I hope you're scared 
         Cmaj7
of only ordinary shit
C                          
  Like murderers and ghosts
     G
 and cancer on your skin
Bm                         
  And not your soul and what
  Cmaj7
 He might do with it

[Post-Chorus]
      Em  G  C
Ah-oh

[Bridge]
G       C          Cmaj7
  Rage,   in small ways
Bm                          C
  Did you wish that I could know
     Bm         C
That you'd fade   to some place
Bm                         C
  I wasn't brave enough to go?

[Chorus]
                          G
I hope you settle down, I hope 
you marry rich
Bm                    
  I hope you're scared 
         Cmaj7
of only ordinary shit
C                          
  Like murderers and ghosts
     G
 and cancer on your skin
Bm                         
  And not your soul and what
  Cmaj7
 He might do with it

[Post-Chorus]
         Em   G   C
Ah (Ah), woah
Em  G   C
Ah
Em  G   C
Ah, Lord
Em  G   C
Ah

[Outro]
I hope you threw a brick 
       G
right into that stained glass
Bm                          
  I hope you're with someone
     C
 who isn't scared to ask
I hope that you're not losing
 G
 sleep about what's next
Bm                          
  Or about your soul and what
  C
 He might do with it

Watch: Noah Kahan - The Great Divide (Official Music Video)

From NoahKahanVEVO on YouTube. Play along with the chords above.

How to play The Great Divide: key, chords and progression

These are The Great Divide chords by Noah Kahan for Piano and Ukulele.

The Great Divide by Noah Kahan keeps coming home to C major (no sharps or flats). You need 6 chords: Em, G, Cmaj7, C, Am and Bm.

The backbone of the song is C – G – Bm – Cmaj7 (I – V – vii – Imaj7 in C major). In solfa, that is doh – soh – te – doh. Practise these 4 changes until they feel natural and you can play most of it.

Beginner-friendly: almost every chord is an open chord on guitar, so you can play it without a capo or barre chords.