City Strong: A Song Inspired By The Grand Shooting

Jessica Lormand sent a link to City Strong, a song written by Coy Watson, music director at Crossroads Church, which was inspired by the shootings at the Grand Theater in Lafayette.

She asked me to share a link to the song, as all proceeds from its downloads will go to the victims of the shootings and their families. I'll have to admit, I didn't know what to expect before I listened to the song.

Jessica sent Coy's contact information, so before I listened to the song, I called him up. I could sense that his emotions were mixed: it seemed as though he was happy that I was interested in getting the song "out there", but I could also tell that he was sad about the events that led to him writing it.

We are stronger

Coy and I chatted for a few minutes, long enough for me to ask for specific information for the story, and long enough for me to hear his heart speaking more than his mind.

We stand together now

It wasn't until I read Coy's bio that I realized that he had a personal connection to the shooting. When you think about it, we ALL have a personal connection to that event, if nothing more that "it happened in my town". But Coy's connection went deeper.

Nothing in the world's going break our hope

One of the school teachers injured in the shootings was a classmate of Coy's in New Iberia. Coy told me that he was driving to dinner the day after the shooting thinking about how horrible and senseless an act it was; trying to think of how he could contribute and reach out to those affected in some way.

Our love is greater

Coy found it was surreal to think that this could happen here in
Lafayette. In speaking with friends and family, he was reminded that it's our unity which
gives us strength.

Our faith is stronger now

Coy says "We see so much division in America that it sometimes takes a
tragedy to remind us that together we are stronger, and that Love will always overcome
evil. I have been privileged to travel many places around the world and I can attest,
Acadiana is a very special place. The best people in the world live here."

No evil in the world's gona take our home

Even the words of Coy's bio seemed to be leading up to the following line:

We are one in a city strong

Those lyrics, right there: WE ARE ONE IN A CITY STRONG. Simple. Powerful. True.

Coy explained his intentions are to try to get everyone to hear the song, as it could very well serve as a tool in the healing process. I thought about that, and realized that the song, and video, could help in several ways:

The lyrics of the song and the images in the video can help to heal the wounds of those directly affected by the tragedy.
For people like me, who don't personally know anyone who was there, downloading the song can help soothe the helpless feeling that I've had since the shootings.
Of course, the monies raised from the downloads will help the victims and their families.
The images in the video, and the words in the song can only bring us closer together as a community.

Coy didn't write the song to gain notoriety. Nor did he write it to make money. He wrote it to help. To help the victims, and to help the community.

I invite you to take a moment to watch the following video. There's a short introduction by Coy, and then the song.

To give credit, Coy listed the people who helped on the song who gave of their talents and time: Tony Goulas on guitar; Tim Courville on drums; Colby Huval on bass; Aaron Thomas is the tracking engineer; Donnie Bolden, his wife and two daughters on vocals.

After you watch the video, take a few minutes to download City Strong. For the victims. For Lafayette. For us.