Shower in the dark day
Clean sparks diving down
Cool in the waterway
Where the baptized drown
Naked in the cold sun
Breathing life like fire
Thought I was the only one
But that was just a lie
'Cause I heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the fourth of July
Pale in the flare light
The scared light cracks and disappears
And leads the scorched ones here
And everywhere no one cares
The fire is spreading
And no one wants to speak about it
Down in the hole
Jesus tries to crack a smile
Beneath another shovel load
'Cause I heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the fourth of July
Heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the fourth of July
Fourth of July, July
Now I'm in control
Now I'm in the fall out
Once asleep but now I stand
And I still remember your sweet everything
Light a roman candle
And hold it in your hand
Heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the fourth of July
Heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the fourth of July, yeah
Clean sparks diving down
Cool in the waterway
Where the baptized drown
Naked in the cold sun
Breathing life like fire
Thought I was the only one
But that was just a lie
'Cause I heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the fourth of July
Pale in the flare light
The scared light cracks and disappears
And leads the scorched ones here
And everywhere no one cares
The fire is spreading
And no one wants to speak about it
Down in the hole
Jesus tries to crack a smile
Beneath another shovel load
'Cause I heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the fourth of July
Heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the fourth of July
Fourth of July, July
Now I'm in control
Now I'm in the fall out
Once asleep but now I stand
And I still remember your sweet everything
Light a roman candle
And hold it in your hand
Heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the fourth of July
Heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky
And I thought it was the end
And I thought it was the fourth of July, yeah
Lyrics submitted by jt, edited by Mellow_Harsher
4th Of July Lyrics as written by Chris Cornell
Lyrics © DistroKid, HIPGNOSIS SONGS GROUP, Peermusic Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
Now follow me on this, but if you think of a war veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, what do you
think they feel on the 4th of July? Fireworks are a little cliched of being reminiscent of gunfire. The noise will often take a soldier right back to those awful days:
"And I heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky"
this would make this veteran consider the similarities between the sound of gunfire and the sound of fireworks. But is the relationship just physical?
Fireworks are THE symbol of American pride. They stand for all American values. i.e. freedom and justice.
On the other hand, guns are a symbol of war, which is seen as having the qualities of oppresion and unjust killing.
These two symbols are contrasted against eachother.
Back to the veteran, when he's hearing the fireworks, he's thinkinng of war
"And I thought it was the end,
I thought it was the 4th of July"
He's thinking: "I thought I heard war, but I really just heard American Pride."
And that's where the irony comes from. America, and all its core values are built on the exact opposite OF those values. America derives its peace from unnecessary bloodshed, and its justice from its unjustified violence.
So from the perspective of the veteran(and who should understand Amercan pride better?), these two symbols have a remarkable resemblance both aurally, AND in their meaning.
that's why I like this song. because the symbols are both aural, they lend themselves well to some intense imagery.
but anyway, that's what I get from the lyrics. If Chris Cornell says it's about an acid trip then that's what it is.
I think this is exactly what he's writing about. The imagery is clear. A nuclear war or some type of war where there is a hail of missiles raining down on a people. However, this is clearly the literal meaning.
Anyway, he says once he released a song it is about whatever the listener thinks it's about. He was such an inspiration. RIP.
My favorite part is "Light a roman candle and hold it in your hand"- If you've ever held a Roman candle at fourth of July, you're basically shooting flames from your hand. Very cool mental image.
And goddamn that riff. It makes my throat itch.
However, that having been said, it would not only be a little bit disappointing to me, it wouldn't always make sense with the lyrics.
"Down in the hole, Jesus tries to crack a smile, beneath another shovel load" just REALLY REALLY sounds deeper than some random acid song like "Look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn" ("Looking Out My Backdoor" by Creedence Clearwater Revival). Also, the aforementioned 4th of July line, doesn't seem to fit with acid, other drugs, or especially cops.
If the song is, indeed, what you stated, then that is that, for sure, but it won't stop me from interpreting this song another way, it's just deeper and better that way, AND that is the glory of such good lyrics. Half the art is what it means to the listener.
Now follow me on this, but if you think of a war veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, what do you
think they feel on the 4th of July? Fireworks are a little cliched of being reminiscent of gunfire. The noise will often take a soldier right back to those awful days:
"And I heard it in the wind
And I saw it in the sky"
this would make this veteran consider the similarities between the sound of gunfire and the sound of fireworks. But is the relationship just physical?
Fireworks are THE symbol of American pride. They stand for all American values. i.e. freedom and justice.
On the other hand, guns are a symbol of war, which is seen as having the qualities of oppresion and unjust killing.
These two symbols are contrasted against eachother.
Back to the veteran, when he's hearing the fireworks, he's thinkinng of war
"And I thought it was the end,
I thought it was the 4th of July"
He's thinking: "I thought I heard war, but I really just heard American Pride."
And that's where the irony comes from. America, and all its core values are built on the exact opposite OF those values. America derives its peace from unnecessary bloodshed, and its justice from its unjustified violence.
So from the perspective of the veteran(and who should understand Amercan pride better?), these two symbols have a remarkable resemblance both aurally, AND in their meaning.
that's why I like this song. because the symbols are both aural, they lend themselves well to some intense imagery.
but anyway, that's what I get from the lyrics. If Chris Cornell says it's about an acid trip then that's what it is.