LEWISTON, Maine — "This town was built on those people. You take the mills out of this town, there was no town," composer Con Fullam said, reflecting on the inspiration behind "Oh Lewiston," a song he wrote decades ago.
Fullam grew up in Waterville and witnessed the impact mill closures had on Lewiston's hard workers. However, the city made a comeback, as written about in the lyrics: "It stood every test you could give a town, through the longing years when the mills shut down."
Fullam wrote the song more than 20 years ago, at the request of Lew Colby, a former NEWS CENTER Maine general manager. Colby asked him to pen an anthem celebrating the city of Lewiston for a promotional campaign he was creating.
"It was a reason to celebrate a city that's had a lot of tough times," Fullam explained.
The tough times continued as years went on, but so did the comebacks.
"When the tragedy happened, it sort of came back to me," Fullam said, referring to the mass shootings in Lewiston last October, which took the lives of 18 people. Since the tragedy, there has been an outpouring of support and commemorations for the city. The community's reaction inspired Fullam to revitalize his song, with a new touch.
He recruited 28 musical professionals to help with a video remake.
"We could've had more, we just couldn't fit them in the studio," well-known Maine musician Denny Breau, who performed as the lead singer in the remake, said.
Breau added he and other performers were excited to bring life to the soundtrack of a song that's lyrics continue to hold true. "It's really a wonderful testament to the city of Lewiston."
The meaning behind the song was seen firsthand by co-producer Efra Becerra, who is also a police officer and was on duty the night of the shootings.
"It brought a little bit of peace and ease to the way things were going at the time," Becerra said.
Becerra saw the community come together the same way they did decades prior, when the song was first written.
"Everybody had a sense of unity. Like, 'I don't care where you come from, what town or wherever. You're in Lewiston? You're a part of us. We're one,'" Becerra explained.
Twenty years later, the same values continue to be upheld by Lewiston's residents, who are proud to call it home, just as the lyrics say.
Watch the original here:
Here's a link to the new rendition: