Fourth of July Lyrics

Lyric discussion by Browns0286 

Cover art for Fourth of July lyrics by Sufjan Stevens

Carrie is the name of his mother, who left the family when Sufjan was young, and later died of cancer in 2012. This song is a (presumably imagined) conversation between Sufjan and her.

This review elaborates more: http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/03/album-review-sufjan-stevens-carrie-lowell/

Song Meaning

(I should clarify that I noted her name being "Carrie" to point out that she's half of the album's namesake)