Fourth Of July – English Lyrics

• By: Sufjan Stevens

Lyrics & Translation

Sufjan Stevens' "Fourth of July" is a masterpiece of vulnerability, offering a profound, intimate window into the complex emotions surrounding the loss of a parent. While deeply personal, its haunting poetry and simple, almost hymn-like structure can teach listeners about navigating grief, using tender language to confront mortality, and finding love even amidst estrangement.

[English]

The evil, it spread like a fever ahead

It was night when you died, my firefly

What could I have said to raise you from the dead?

Oh, could I be the sky on the Fourth of July?

"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"

Sitting at the bed with the halo at your head

Was it all a disguise, like junior high?

Where everything was fiction, future, and prediction

Now, where am I? My fading supply

"Did you get enough love, my little dove?

Why do you cry?

And I’m sorry I left, but it was for the best

Though it never felt right

My little Versailles"

The hospital asked, "Should the body be cast?"

Before I say goodbye, my star in the sky

Such a funny thought to wrap you up in cloth

Do you find it all right, my dragonfly?

"Shall we look at the moon, my little loon?

Why do you cry?

Make the most of your life, while it is rife

While it is light

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"

We're all gonna die

We're all gonna die

We're all gonna die

We're all gonna die

We're all gonna die

We're all gonna die

We're all gonna die

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
spread spred A2	verb - to extend over a large area
fever ˈfiːvər A1	noun - an abnormally high body temperature
firefly ˈfaɪərˌflaɪ A1	noun - a beetle that produces light
raise reɪz A2	verb - to lift or move something to a higher position
sky skaɪ A1	noun - the area above the earth
hawk hɔːk A1	noun - a large bird of prey
burn bɜːrn A1	verb - to be damaged by fire noun - an injury caused by fire
disguise dɪsˈɡaɪz B1	verb - to change one's appearance to hide identity noun - a means of concealing identity
fiction ˈfɪkʃən A2	noun - literature in the form of prose, especially novels, that describes imaginary events and people
prediction prɪˈdɪkʃən B1	noun - a statement about what will happen in the future
supply səˈplaɪ A2	noun - an amount of something available for use
dove dʌv A1	noun - a bird symbolizing peace
cast kæst A2	verb - to throw or direct something
cloth klɒθ A1	noun - a woven material used in making clothes
dragonfly ˈdræɡənˌflaɪ A1	noun - a large insect with two pairs of wings
loon luːn B1	noun - a type of water bird
rife raɪf B2	adjective - commonly or frequently occurring

Key Grammar Structures

• The evil, it spread like a fever ahead

  ➔ Inversion (Subject-Verb order)

  ➔ The subject ('it') comes after the verb ('spread') for emphasis or poetic effect. This is a less common construction.

• What could I have said to raise you from the dead?

  ➔ Modal verb ('could') + perfect infinitive ('have said')

  ➔ Expresses a past possibility or an unfulfilled action in the past.

• Oh, could I be the sky on the Fourth of July?

  ➔ Inversion (Auxiliary verb at the beginning for emphasis and question formation)

  ➔ This is a question formed by inverting the subject and auxiliary verb, used for emphasis and poetic effect.

• Tell me, what did you learn from the Tillamook burn?

  ➔ Indirect Question (Embedded question)

  ➔ The question 'what did you learn' is embedded within the sentence, starting after the introductory clause.

• We’re all gonna die

  ➔ 'Gonna' (colloquial contraction of 'going to') + verb (die)

  ➔ Informal future tense construction. Shows a casual and direct tone.

• Was it all a disguise, like junior high?

  ➔ Inversion in a question (subject-verb order reversed)

  ➔ The subject 'it' comes after the verb 'was' to form a question.

• Where everything was fiction, future, and prediction

  ➔ Listing of nouns in a series without a conjunction

  ➔ Uses commas to separate the nouns 'fiction', 'future', and 'prediction', creating a staccato effect. A conjunction could have been used, but its absence adds to the flow.

• Did you get enough love, my little dove?

  ➔ Inversion and direct address

  ➔ Question structure (inversion) and the use of a term of endearment ('my little dove') to address the subject.