<P> Songwriter Gretchen Peters received the Country Music Association's Song of the Year award in 1995 for "Independence Day ." </P> <P> In the song, a daughter recalls a tragic incident she experienced as a child . Her mother was involved in a domestic abuse incident with her alcoholic father . On Independence Day, the daughter walks to the town fair and hears rumors going on about the father's abuse . That day, the mother burns down their house and the daughter is sent to a county home . According to McBride, the mother does not die in the fire, as she has now gained her independence from an abusive relationship . The music video was produced by American director team Deaton - Flanigen Productions, consisting of William Deaton III and George Flanigen IV . </P> <P> 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 . </P> <P> According to National Public Radio as broadcast on April 3, 2017, the song is about Francine Hughes, an American woman who, after 13 years of domestic abuse, set fire to the bed of her live - in ex-husband Mickey Hughes, on March 9, 1977 . Mickey was killed and the house destroyed in the resulting fire . </P>

Let freedom ring let the white bird sing