Martina McBride had a big hit in 1994 with “Independence Day,” her sixth single, third Top 20 hit, and first song to sell more than a million copies. The song, from McBride’s sophomore 1993 The Way That I Am album, was written by Gretchen Peters, who had no idea that the song, about domestic violence, would become an anthem on July 4th.

“It took 18 months to write it,” Peters tells The Boot. “As I lived with it, the story of the mother and daughter started to come, and I knew that obviously, the ‘Independence Day’ thing was a metaphor for [the mother in the song] finding her freedom. How does a woman in that situation find freedom? I was still a relatively young songwriter, and I really, really wanted to find a happy ending, or at least one that wasn’t so dire and dismal. That’s why it took me so long to write the song, because I kept trying to make things work out okay.”

Of course, in “Independence Day,” the mother burns the house down, and it is assumed with her and her husband inside, while the narrator of the story is sent to live elsewhere. It’s a powerful story, and one that radio almost initially declined to play.

“We received initial pushback on the song, and I was so confused by that,” McBride says (via People). “I was like, ‘Why wouldn’t they play this song?’”

“I had one music director who said, ‘You know, if that [music] video is on, and my young daughter walks through the room, I have to have a discussion with her and explain it to her,’” she recalls. “And I thought to myself, ‘Well, maybe that’s not such a bad idea. What’s wrong with that?’”

Thanks to the success of “Independence Day,” and the response from the fans, McBride became a spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and also worked with the National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline, She later received the Covenant House Beacon of Hope Award, as well as the Music Business Association’s 2015 Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award

“I started getting all these letters — handwritten letters, back in the day — from women saying, ‘This is my song,’” McBride shares. “I got a few letters that said, ’I heard this song on the radio, I’ve been battered for 10 years, and I left. This was the thing that made me realize that it’s not my fault, that I need to make a change.’”

McBride is reportedly working on a “really personal” new album.

“I’ve always done songs that talk about life and tell stories and really maybe help other people and tell their stories, but maybe it’s time for me to do an album that’s maybe more personal,” she tells People.

Find all of McBride’s music and upcoming tour dates at MartinaMcBride.com.