Posted by In the lyrics of Stick Season, Noah Kahan talks about his past relationship, exploring the meaning of a precise time of the year in Vermont
Since his third album Stick Season was released in 2022, Noah Kahan has been constantly present in the American music playlists, week after week. The songs released in 2023, Dial Drunk and Call Your Mom, have captured the fans’ interest, and we analyzed them here and here. However, Stick Season is still his most popular track, unveiling a precise meaning in its lyrics: the song is about love and relationships, but the stick season is an actual definition, well-known to people living in Vermont. In this article, we will discover everything about it, and you’ll also find the complete lyrics at the end.
What is the stick season in Vermont? Noah Kahan’s song lyrics & meaning
Let’s start with the song’s meaning: Noah Kahan’s Stick Season is about the memory and the regrets of a past relationship; its lyrics describe how that story was and the singer’s feelings now that it has ended.
The “stick season” is a specific time of the year well known to people living in Vermont. Noah Kahan explained it personally in this interview, but the concept was already well-expressed by this article on Scenes of Vermont: it’s that short period during fall, when leaves have fallen from the trees but snow hasn’t arrived yet. The landscapes are dominated by the naked sticks in the trees, and people experience a sense of passage, waiting for the winter to bring more tourists to the state.
In this particular moment of the year, Noah Kahan recalls all the promises he exchanged with his ex and expresses the sadness of his present loneliness. There was a time when they believed they would be together forever. However, things have changed, and apparently, the girl already moved on: the singer mentions how her mom doesn’t even remember about him.
You once called me “forever,” now you still can’t call me back
And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks
And I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed
The song poetically describes the effort this girl used to make for him, driving for miles just to meet him. Still, one day, she stopped doing it, and Noah Kahan pictures her decision to avoid the exit from the highway, continuing straight, getting far from him.
Your voice trailed off exactly as you passed my exit sign
Kept on drivin’ straight and left our future to the right
And now, in this cold season, Noah Kahan is alone, living with his memories. He hints about depression, something “he inherited from dad” (this comes from his private life, his dad has always suffered from depression). Therefore, he feels inevitably aligned with this sense of wait and passage represented by Vermont’s stick season: he waits for Christmas to come, and then the next phase will probably start.
I’ll drink alcohol ’til my friends come home for Christmas
And I’ll dream each night of some version of you
In conclusion, this is the real meaning behind the lyrics of Stick Season: I lost you, I miss you, and now I’m alone, living in this phase of transition. It’s my season of emptiness: waiting for a new phase, letting time pass by apathetically. It’s a poetic breakup song, exploring the depth of our feelings in a moment of loneliness.
Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave
The official streaming and the complete lyrics
As you promised me that I was more than all the miles combined
You must’ve had yourself a change of heart like halfway through the drive
Because your voice trailed off exactly as you passed my exit sign
Kept on drivin’ straight and left our future to the right
Now I am stuck between my anger and the blame that I can’t face
And memories are somethin’ even smoking weed does not replace
And I am terrified of weather ’cause I see you when it rains
Doc told me to travel, but there’s COVID on the planes
And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks
And I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed
And it’s half my fault, but I just like to play the victim
I’ll drink alcohol ’til my friends come home for Christmas
And I’ll dream each night of some version of you
That I might not have, but I did not lose
Now you’re tire tracks and one pair of shoes
And I’m split in half, but that’ll have to do
So I thought that if I piled something good on all my bad
That I could cancel out the darkness I inherited from Dad
No, I am no longer funny ’cause I miss the way you laugh
You once called me “forever,” now you still can’t call me back
And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks
And I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed
And it’s half my fault, but I just like to play the victim
I’ll drink alcohol ’til my friends come home for Christmas
And I’ll dream each night of some version of you
That I might not have, but I did not lose
Now you’re tire tracks and one pair of shoes
And I’m split in half, but that’ll have to do
Oh, that’ll have to do
My other half was you
I hope this pain’s just passin’ through
But I doubt it
And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks
And I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed
And it’s half my fault, but I just like to play the victim
I’ll drink alcohol ’til my friends come home for Christmas
And I’ll dream each night of some version of you
That I might not have, but I did not lose
Now you’re tire tracks and one pair of shoes
And I’m split in half, but that’ll have to do
Have to do
