Sufjan Stevens’ “Fourth of July” Lyrics Meaning

Important to note from the onset is that the song “Fourth of July” is not only based on an actual event in Sufjan Stevens’ life but furthermore witnessing his mother pass away. She was someone who, perhaps most simply put, neglected to take care of him to the point that Sufjan didn’t really know her. 

And it is based on that premise that the vocalist takes what can be interpreted as a condemnatory and even somewhat patriarchal tone over the addressee. If a listener doesn’t know that these lyrics reflect the words from a son to his mother, they aren’t likely to figure out from the lingo/mood exhibited, with the singer referring to the person he’s singing to as being “little” and things of the sort. 

Or phrased alternately yet again, the wording doesn’t read like it is being relayed from one individual to another who has natural seniority over him. And knowing the background of the narrative, the implication is that Sufjan did in fact view his mother as a “little dove” or “little hawk”. In his eyes, she was his junior in the sense that he felt his mom’s life path denied her the opportunity to fully grow.

Key Sentiment of “Fourth of July”

But that is not to say that the primary sentiment being put forth is one of pity or anything like that. Perhaps a natural psychological response to having a parent pass away is just the simple realization that our own demise is inevitable. And so it reads with “Fourth of July”, i.e. the vocalist concluding throughout it all that “we’re all going to die”. 

Also, it can be gleaned that Stevens did possess some type of admiration for his mom. He apparently understood that his own artistic light, if you will, was inherited from her.

Now concerning the title of this song, if there’s one aspect of it that is ascertainable, it would be that in some way, shape or form Sufjan is equating the titular holiday with death. And in somewhat of an elaborate, poetic way, what he seems to be saying is that the passing of the addressee was through some fault of her own. 

So when he asks her “what did you learn from… the Fourth of July”, the implication is that the way Stevens personally perceives or interprets said holiday contains some type of important life lesson therein. But such is not expounded upon. So maybe it would take someone who is deeply familiar with his artistry to understand what the singer means exactly in that regard.

Song’s Emotion

Also concerning the emotion of this piece – and there is in fact a lot contained therein – you can see that whereas witnessing the addressee’s death has a profound impact on the vocalist  and she is obviously someone he knows well, there is also this sense of stoicism. 

And the way that Sufjan has explained the event in non-musical terms also indicates that he was perhaps most disturbed by the fact that he just didn’t feel as strongly for Carrie passing away as he believes he should have.

“Well, you do enough talk
My little hawk, why do you cry?
Tell me, what did you learn from the Tillamook burn?
Or the Fourth of July?
We’re all gonna die”

Sufjan Talks about Mom’s Death

According to Sufjan, his mother died quickly from stomach cancer. He described her condition in the ICU as one in which despite being on a plethora of drugs was in so much pain. Stevens went on to describe his mother’s death as “devastating”. According to him, while she lay almost lifeless in the hospital, he was filled with just one goal – to let her know how much he loved her.

And apparently he achieved that goal because he talked of there being a “reciprocal deep love and care” between him and his mother in her final hours of life.

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens is a singer and multi-instrumentalist from Michigan whose official discography commenced in 1999. 

Whereas he may not be a household name, by all accounts Sufjan is a skilled musician. For instance, the LP this song is derived from, 2015’s “Carrie & Lowell”, broke the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and UK Albums Chart, in addition to being certified silver across the pond. 

And as impressive as those accomplishments may be, they still don’t rightfully do justice in terms of indicating how well the project was received by professional music critics. It was officially ranked as one of the ‘best albums of 2015’, the decade, etc. by a number of such organizations.

“Fourth of July”

Asthmatic Kitty, a label that Sufjan Stevens co-founded at the start of his career, put out “Fourth of July” as part of “Carrie & Lowell” on 31 March 2015.  

Carrie, as noted earlier, was the name of Sufjan’s mom. And the man she got married to after breaking up with his dad was Lowell Brams, who is second co-founder of Asthmatic Kitty.

Sufjan Stevens wrote “Fourth of July”, and the track was produced by a musical friend of his who goes by the tag of Doveman.

To note, “Fourth of July” was never issued as a single. However, it appears to be amongst Sufjan Stevens most heralded tracks.