Paid Time Off a song by Noah Kahan on
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About Paid Time Off
“Paid Time Off” is the fifth song on Kahan’s fourth studio album, The Great Divide, publicly debuting via NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert on April 21, 2026. The title works as a metaphor. While it refers to taking time off from work, it likely points to something deeper: needing distance from fame, expectations, or relationships, and questioning whether rest is something you have to earn. It also touches on the guilt that can come with stepping back, even when you’re overwhelmed. .
Paid Time Off Lyrics
[00:00.37] I called you
[00:05.01] But I'd run out of words
[00:09.46] So I stared at the plastic
[00:13.96] Collidin' with dirt
[00:19.34] At the fast food
[00:24.68] Sign out in Leb
[00:29.34] I prepared for the warfare
[00:33.79] With the voice in my head
[00:39.32] And I thought it was strange
[00:44.04] How the letters were placed
[00:48.68] How the hiring sign
[00:53.35] Seemed to laugh in my face
[00:59.13] And if you were here, you'd make a joke of it
[01:07.93] I'm alone, getting lost in the scope of it
[01:17.98] And I see you drive in
[01:23.25] And your love is like an open flame
[01:26.05] I'm a running car, you're a closed garage
[01:28.77] Someone once told us there's a world out there
[01:31.32] But we don't care enough to drive that far
[01:34.11] It's been a damn near perfect day
[01:36.51] Just getting high at the outlet mall
[01:39.54] Most people grow up and they move away
[01:42.16] But you don't care and I don't mind at all
[01:49.62] I got the car, you got the bag
[01:51.82] A handwritten note left from mom and dad
[01:54.43] Police scanner bouncing on the dash
[01:57.11] Cup of burnt coffee and a check to cash
[02:01.87] I had the brains for a city job
[02:03.82] But you got the taste of a county cop
[02:06.73] Pack of cigarettes and a round of golf
[02:09.13] Make a livin' workin' for the paid time off
[02:15.88] Such simple lines
[02:17.85] They drew to make this place
[02:20.79] In the interest of time
[02:23.24] We got a whole lot to waste
[02:25.89] And your love is like an open flame
[02:27.77] I'm a running car and you're a closed garage
[02:30.58] Someone once said there's a world out there
[02:32.88] But we don't care enough to drive that far
[02:35.60] It's been a damn near perfect day
[02:37.83] Just getting high at the outlet mall
[02:40.87] People grow and they move away
[02:43.16] But you don't care and I don't mind at all
[02:45.96] You don't care and I
[02:46.71] Don't mind at all
[03:16.24] I got the car, you got the bag
[03:18.52] Handwritten note left from mom and dad
[03:21.28] A police scanner bouncing on the dash
[03:24.01] A cup of burnt coffee and a check to cash
[03:31.05] I had the brains for a city job
[03:33.39] But you got the taste of a county cop
[03:35.94] Pack of cigarettes and a round of golf
[03:38.30] Make a livin' workin' for the paid time off
[03:41.45]
Stats
105,580 listeners
448,532 plays
From the album: The Great Divide: The Last Of The Bugs
