Allison Beer

Fourth of July

Sufjan Stevens’s hauntingly beautiful “Fourth of July” is a documentation of a conversation with his dying mother in the ICU—and a poignant memento mori for the listener.

The universal reminder that “we’re all gonna die” looms over the verses in a ghostly silver ink, while the tiny hand-set 10pt type emphasizes both the intimacy and the mundanity of a close, loving relationship. Printed together, these typographic elements visually express the song’s chilling and profound emotional weight.


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