growing up, it was just me and my mom against the world
and all my sympathies were with her when i was a little girl
and i've seen both my parents play out the hands that they were dealt
as each year goes by, i know more about how my father must have felt

i just want you to understand that i know what all the fighting
was for, and i just want you to understand that i'm not angry anymore
no, i'm not angry anymore

she taught me how to wage cold war with quiet charm
but i just want to walk through my life unarmed
to accept, and just get by like my father learned to do,
but without all the acceptance of getting by that got my father through

i just want you to understand that i know what all the fighting was for
and i just want you to understand that i'm not angry anymore
no, i'm not angry anymore

night falls like people into love
we generate our own light to compensate
for the lack of light from above
every time we fight a cold wind blows our way,
we can learn like the trees, how to bend,
how to sway and say

i, i think i understand
what all this fighting is for,
and baby i just want you to understand
that i'm not angry anymore
no, i'm not angry anymore