Well she seemed all right by dawn's early light
Though she looked a little worried and weak.
She tried to pretend he wasn't drinkin' again
But daddy'd left the proof on her cheek.
And I was only eight years old that summer
And I always seemed to be in the way
So I took myself down to the fair in town
On Independence Day.

Well,word gets around in a small,small town
They said he was a dangerous man
But mama was proud and she stood her ground
But she knew she was on the losin' end.
Some folks whispered and some folks talked
But everybody looked the other way
And when time ran out there was no one about
On Independence Day.

[Chorus]
Let freedom ring, let the white dove sing
Let the whole world know that today
Is a day of reckoning.
Let the weak be strong,let the right be wrong
Roll the stone away, let the guilty pay
It's Independence Day.

Well,she lit up the sky that fourth of July
By the time that the firemen come
They just put out the flames
And took down some names
And send me to the county home.
Now I ain't sayin' it's right or it's wrong
But maybe it's the only way.
Talk about your revolution
It's Independence Day.

[Chorus]

Roll the stone away
It's Independence Day.



Lyrics submitted by Manderzterz

"Independence Day" as written by Gretchen Peters

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Independance Day song meanings
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14 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:I meant, for years, not for us!
    Flag Beautifulme77on June 29, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think it is amazing how people can write songs with such a sensitive subject, and write them in such a clever way!
    Child abuse is an awful thing, this child will grow eventually and be affected by it all for us, some for life!
    I have a friend who was sexually abused by her father (her and her sister). They were left damaged. My friend is now in her 30s and has been struggling for years because of the trauma. We became friends because when I moved, I was her next door neighbour. At first I could not understand why she was not nice when I was friendly and nice to her, but by getting to know her, I learnt that when you have been abused, it is hard to believe that there are nice people out there who won't hurt you. Also, she seemed to want to hurt others because she wanted them to feel the pain she was feeling. When I told her that she did not have to go through any more pain if she let the light of God in. She roared at me! She said that if God existed he should not have let it happen. I can totally understand how she feels and how many would think the same. However, God is not responsible for our actions. He loves us all, he taught us to love one another. He is aware of those who go through it and at some point he sends his angels to let them know that he knows and wants to heal them.
    Flag Beautifulme77on June 29, 2012   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:In our tiny town of Dansville in Michian, we like to think that the song is based off of the Burning Bed incident that happened here. It may or may not be true, but it's nice to think.

    What happened in the Burning Bed was that a man was extremely abusive to his wife, and one night he came home drunk and passed out on the bed. She sent the kids away and lit the house up, both she and the unconcious husband went down with it.
    Flag cattlecaiton November 15, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think the mother didn't litterally burned the house down. Burning down the house could also mean destroying the picture perfect family they appeared to be to the outside world, just by leaving him. Of course, if the child was sent away from the parents, there would probably be more to it than just leave the husband, but I could imagine something like that.

    The 'firemen' could then for example be the relationship therapists, who would usually try to keep the family together, but in this case see it's useless, so they just 'put out the flames and take down some names'.
    Flag dexter79on December 24, 2007   Link
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    General Comment:Perhaps the aGretchen Peters' lyrics have some biblical assimilations, but as far as direct quotes, not from any version of the Bible I've ever read. They're not direct quotes from the Bible. Do they have an affiliation? Perhaps ...

    The mother could have died in the fire, accidentally or deliberately, or she could have been taken away by the authorities. The songwriter, Gretchen Peters, deliberately left that question unanswered. But the point of the song is to illustrate what can happen when a woman finds herself in a desperate situation as a result of domestic violence and feels she has to take desperate action. Martina wanted to record the song to warn women in abusive or violent relationships to get help or get out before they find themselves in a tragedy like the woman in the song. Martina says her interpretation is that the mother does NOT die and that she couldn't have recorded the song if she felt that the mother dies.

    So obviously, the song is depicts her as a young child watching her father, who was a drunken sot, continually engage in domestic abuse directed toward her mother. Eventually, since "mama was proud and she stood her ground", her mother couldn't handle it any more. Her mother didn't want her daughter to grow up like this, and she had her own solution: Burn the house down.

    Was the mother left inside the house and killed as well? This is my opinion, although obviously (as stated above) Martina said "no". I love her music and lyrics, but I don't agree with her here.

    "Let weak be strong" -- well, her mother was the weak one always being abused. Let her be strong, if just for today!

    "Let the right be wrong" -- Hey, although Martina says in the song, that she doesn't "know if it's right or it's wrong (but maybe it's the only way)", she knows it's wrong. She doesn't want her mother to be judged by God for this. Let freedom ring! Let the right be wrong, if just for today.

    "Roll that stone away" -- release my mother from the evilness of my father -- let my mother into heaven, and don't punish her for burning the house down and killing him. Roll that stone away.

    "Let the guilty pay" -- obvious. Her mother shouldn't be punished; her father should. Let the guilty pay, and he's the guilty one.

    The author cleverly used Biblical assimilations to mock a real life situation, and it fit Martina perfectly. She's a wonderful artist and seemingly wonderful person.
    Flag ivyleagueron September 19, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:These lyrics are wrong, "Throw the Stone Away" is actually, "Roll the Stone Away". You may think that is a small difference, but it is very important to the meaning of "Let the Right be Wrong".

    The chorus is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

    Let Freedom Ring - Mark 16:15
    Let the White Dove Sing - Luke 3:22
    Today is the day of reckoning - Hebrews 9:27
    Let the Weak be Strong - James 4:10
    Let the Right be Wrong - Galatians 3:24, Romans 3:20
    Roll the Stone Away - Mark 16:3-4
    Let the Guilty Pay, It's Independence Day - Matthew 25:46

    What the chorus says, is pretty much what every letter in the New Testament says, “Hallelujah, the Christ has come, death has lost its sting!” – 1 Corinthians 15:55
    Let the White Dove sing is talking about Jesus being Baptized when God, as a Dove, landed on Jesus’ head and said(sang) “This is my Son.”
    Today is the day of reckoning is Biblical, but I think it is more to make the chorus fit the song. Everyone is accountable to God at their death, the ultimate statistic is that 10 out of 10 people die, so it’s important that the whole world hear it.
    Let the Weak be Strong is an emphasis to how often the Bible speaks of the humble and poor being the ones that God has the most affection for.
    Let the Right be Wrong is the most important part in the road to the salvation of your soul! Paul said that he knew not sin except by the law. If you do not know that you are a sinner, then you do not know you need a savior. In order for Christ to save your soul, your righteousness must be shown to you to be wrongness. How is that? It is by understanding that every lie you have ever told has been written on your conscious, every thing you have stolen, from a pen, to a song on the internet, to taking someone else’s idea as your own is known to God. Every idle word (either a cuss word or blasphemy) will require an account. These are three of the commandments, there are seven more.
    The Gospel, or good news, is that when the Stone was Rolled Away, Jesus Christ, who was punished and KILLED for your sins, was no longer dead, He DEFEATED death and delivered your soul from the grips of the Devil.

    Let the Guilty Pay > The unrepentant, untrusting Sinners.
    It’s Independence Day > Those that have repented of their sins, trusted in Jesus Christ to save their souls, are Independent from Hell.

    Cool Chorus, it started to unfold when I was trying to figure out how she was referring to America when she said, “Let the Right be Wrong”, then I realized it wasn’t about America’s Independence Day from Britain, it is about American’s Independence Day from Hell.
    Flag NoWorries1988on July 21, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:why are there two independence days, i mean two lyrics fr the same song.
    Flag wicked_angelon June 23, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think, personally, that she set fire to the house which burned with her in it too. So she realized her daughter would have a better life without her dad obviously, even if her mom had to go to. That she sacrificed herself for her daughter to have a better life.
    Flag mariahlovesmusicon February 28, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The title is a double meaning. "Independence Day" has a literal meaning, in that these events happened on July 4th, or America's Independence Day.

    It also refers to the day that her mom in the song finally had enough of her dad's abusive ways and declared her "independence" by setting fire to the house. I believe it's right to assume the father died, mother was arrested and daughter (Martina in the song) was taken to foster care.

    However, her in-song mom gained independence from the abuse her in-song dad was giving for herself and Martina. Therefore, it was a "day of reckoning" or a day where her father finally had to own up for his past sins. Mom and daughter, while not together physically, were independent of the father's abuse.

    Awesome song and lyrics!
    Flag GrtOne41on April 04, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:First off, when she says "let the right be wrong" she is just trying to rhyme, but also it's meaning is that all those who are so full of themselves, self-centered and arrogant, should see that at some point that they are not perfect, that they don't know everything, because no one does.
    For those of you who may be Stephen King fans, this is the closest song I could find to be related to the novel "It" of course Independance Day was not a part of the story, but I'll explain the stuff that relates. Most of it has to do with Beverly Marsh.
    Bev had a somewhat abusive father who drank, but through it all Bev was a really strong person, the age of 8 is a few years younger then Bev, but she definately tried to stay away from the house as much as she could.
    As for the song being related to the whole story, well, it's really hard to get around that is about a broken family. But as far as things related to the creature It, the small town of Derry was ultimately blind to the monster, and only a few knew of it "some folks whisper, some folks talk, but everybody looked the other way out, and when time ran out, there was no one about. That is what happens when It takes a child, the matter goes ultimately unresolved, the parents are sad, but don't ever think of revenge on whoever killed their child. I am not sure I can explain it further without making it worse. I just suggest reading the book, best one ever written. And for anyone who has, I hope you see the few points I mean.
    Flag ReptileKingon March 26, 2005   Link

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