"We are here, we are strong, we are the Mac" -- those are the opening words to a song written by an Edmonton musician this week to inspire and pay tribute to those dealing with the devastating fire in Fort McMurray.
Mike Braniff was inspired this week when he heard a stoic regional fire chief say the simple words "we are here, we are strong."
Braniff combined those words with a slogan he uses when he performs at a Fort McMurray pub, "we are the Mac," and realized he had the opening verse to a song to honour his Fort McMurray friends.
“We are the Mac” also became the song’s title.
"The song kind of wrote itself in about five minutes so I put it out there -- not for sale, nobody buys music anymore they just like to listen to it -- so I just hope this brings a smile. It's something to make people feel good through this situation," Braniff told CTV News Channel on Friday.
He started writing the lyrics at 7 p.m. Thursday evening, then finished the final touches on the recording and a YouTube video to accompany it, around 3 a.m.
"I was rather surprised when at 8 a.m. this morning CTV called and woke me up. I thought I was being pranked but here I am. I couldn't be happier that this is happening. Again it's just a friendly love song to my friends to let everybody know hey, we're going to get through this."
A recurring theme in the song is the idea of rebuilding and returning. One of the opening lines has the message "It won't take long, 'til we get home, we will be back."
Braniff said his hope is that residents of the devastated city do eventually return home and rebuild the community. And he said that when they do, he expects the Blackhorse Pub in Fort McMurray, where he has been performing for the past 16 years, will be there ready to welcome them back.
"I can't help but think when people are starting to return home they're going to need to be able to get out and see some friends and maybe share a pint or two and we're going to be the place to do that," Braniff said.
In fact, the pub's website states that the watering hole is currently closed due to the disaster, but that "we'll still be there for you when this has passed."
