Independence Day (Martina McBride song)

"Independence Day"
File:Martina McBride - Independence Day cover.png
Single by Martina McBride
from the album The Way That I Am
B-side	"True Blue Fool"
Released	April 25, 1994
Format	CD single
Genre	Country
Length	3:25
Label	RCA Nashville
Writer(s)	Gretchen Peters
Producer(s)	Paul Worley Ed Seay Martina McBride
Martina McBride singles chronology
"Life #9" (1994) "Independence Day" (1994) "Heart Trouble" (1994)
Music video "Independence Day" at CMT.com

"Independence Day" is a song written by Gretchen Peters, and performed by American country music singer Martina McBride. It was released in April 1994 as the third single from her album The Way That I Am. The song peaked at number 12 on Hot Country Songs. Peters later recorded it herself on her 1996 album The Secret of Life. It was first offered to Reba McEntire, who turned it down.

In 2003, it ranked 50th in CMT's 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music. The following year, it ranked #2 in CMT's 100 Greatest Videos in Country Music. The song was also featured in CMT's Controversy in terms of release and included interviews from "The Today Show" reporter Tiki Barber, Brad Paisley, McBride herself, and former National Organization for Women president Patricia Ireland. In 2014, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song #77 in their list of the 100 greatest country songs. The song has sold 550,000 copies in the US as of July 2015.

Songwriter Gretchen Peters received the Country Music Association's Song of the Year award in 1994 for "Independence Day."

Lyrics and video

The lyrics tell a story of a woman's response to domestic abuse, seen from the point of view of her daughter. The song's music video was somewhat controversial at the time of its release, because of its graphic depiction of domestic violence and how everyone in town seemingly knew about it, but did nothing to help stop it. The ending of the video is particularly intense, as it shows the young girl's home burning to the ground, implying that the mother had been responsible for the fire, and the abusive father perished in the fire. McBride has said the mother does not die in the fire, as she has now gained her independence from an abusive relationship. In the official music video, the girl is at the 4th of July parade when she sees two clowns pretending to hit one another and the sight hits too close to home. Suddenly she no longer sees the parade as fun and returns home. The home is engulfed in flames by the time she gets back, and she is shown towards the end of the video crying in the front seat of a police cruiser as, with one parent dead and the other going to jail, she is being taken away to the county children's home.

The lyrics have a double meaning in that the woman in the story is finally gaining her "freedom" from her abusive husband. Thus, it is her "Independence Day." The title also refers to the fact that the events noted in the song happened on the United States' Independence Day, or July 4.

In media

The song's chorus is used by Sean Hannity for his Premiere Radio Networks radio talk show, though the song is about domestic violence, not patriotic values, according to the writer of the song, Gretchen Peters; who does not agree with Hannity's use of the song but cannot stop his use; she collects royalties from him every time it is played and she uses those royalties to donate to her causes

Chart performance

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)	15
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)	12

Awards

Year	Ceremony	Award	Result
1994	Academy of Country Music Awards	Video of the Year	Nominated
1995	Grammy Awards	Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Female	Nominated
1995	Grammy Awards	Best Country Song	Nominated
1995	Country Music Association Awards	Song of the Year	Won
1994	Country Music Association Awards	Video of the Year	Won

Cover versions

In 2002, singer Taylor Horn covered the song for her debut album taylor-made at the age of nine.

In 2003, 1980s pop superstar Pat Benatar performed the song in a duet with McBride on the CMT television series Crossroads.

In American Idol, both Carrie Underwood & Lil Rounds performed the song on the show. Underwood also released the song as a B-side track with her single of "Inside Your Heaven".

In 2011, Little Big Town performed Independence Day as a tribute to McBride, who was being honoured as part of ACM's Girls Night Out - Superstar Women of Country show.