(WTVO) — Rocker Pat Benatar says she is refusing to sing her 80’s hit “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” after recent gun violence in the United States.

In an interview with USA Today, Benatar says she wasn’t going to sing the song on her current tour in deference to the victims of the families of mass shootings, such as the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, or the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park, Illinois.

“I’m not singing it,” Benatar said. “I tell them, if you want to hear the song, go home and listen to it. (The title) is tongue-in-cheek, but you have to draw the line. I can’t say those words out loud with a smile on my face, I just can’t.”

Benatar added that she was refusing to sing the song as a political protest.

“I’m not going to go on stage and soapbox – I go to my legislators – but that’s my small contribution to protesting. I’m not going to sing it. Tough,” she said.

“Hit Me With Your Best Shot” was written by Eddie Schwartz and was released in 1980, becoming Benatar’s first Billboard 100 Top 10 single.

The song, about a relationship breakup, contains the lyrics “fire away” in the chorus.