Fourth of July

Album: Carrie & Lowell (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The songs on Carrie and Lowell were inspired by the 2012 death of Sufjan Stevens' mother, Carrie, and memories of the limited time they spent together (she left home when her son was very young). Stevens recounts here in harrowing detail a conversation with Carrie, as she lies dying of stomach cancer in hospital.
  • Stevens recalled the intimate and heartbreaking time he spent by his mother's death bed to Pitchfork. "We flew to see her in the ICU before she died," the Brooklyn musician said. "She was in a lot of pain, and on a lot of drugs, but she was aware. It was so terrifying to encounter death and have to reconcile that, and express love, for someone so unfamiliar."

    "Her death was so devastating to me because of the vacancy within me," Stevens continued. "I was trying to gather as much as I could of her, in my mind, my memory, my recollections, but I have nothing. It felt unsolvable. There is definitely a deep regret and grief and anger. I went through all the stages of bereavement. But I say make amends while you can: Take every opportunity to reconcile with those you love or those who've hurt you. It was in our best interest for our mother to abandon us. God bless her for doing that and knowing what she wasn't capable of."
  • Charlotte Church is a big fan of this song, calling it "one of the most moving things I've ever heard in my life."

    "It's absolutely beautiful," she told NME. "I'm into songs about death and I think it's a really important thing. Often we don't talk about it as a society and we should talk about it more."

Comments: 1

  • Hianicc_that sounds hurt..
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In Songs

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In SongsSong Writing

Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.