Fayetteville once had a theme song. What happened?

For nearly 13 years, Fayetteville residents who called City Hall were greeted with the lyrics “I'm talkin' about my hometown, Fayetteville/ She's nestled in the sand hills on a river called Cape Fear.”

The song, "Hometown Fayetteville,” was written by Thomas Black Jr., and was the winning submission in a contest to build community pride, according to 2002 Fayetteville Observer articles.

In a statement last week, city spokesman Loren Bymer said that currently, Fayetteville does not have an official song.

Bymer said “Hometown Fayetteville” was used by the city during the early 2000s. He said the playing of the song before regular council meetings stopped in the early stages of a city rebranding effort.

In 2015, complaints about lyrics that referenced cotton mills and the downtown Market House, where enslaved people were once sold, prompted the city to stop promoting the song's use, according to a July 2015 Fayetteville Observer article.

The Market House was built in 1832 on the site of the old statehouse, which had been where North Carolina delegates ratified the U.S. Constitution.

Marvin Curtis, then chair of the Fayetteville State University fine arts department, was part of a panel that reviewed 13 entries for the song competition, then made a recommendation to the council.

In doing so, Curtis suggested the Market House reference be deleted, according to the November 2002 article.

Some residents, including Fayetteville attorney Allen Rogers, complained to the mayor and the City Council about the song’s use because of the Market House reference.

The songwriter, Black, who grew up in the Tolar Hart cotton mill community about a mile from the Market House, told The Observer in July 2015 that his lyrics spoke about freedom’s will and was not racial.

He said the Market House once was a place for slavery but that it later symbolized a landmark of history.

Removing Market House logo from city items

The City Council further distanced itself from the Market House in 2016, when it voted to remove its Market House logo from the Council chamber.

After the May 2020 death of George Floyd, a Black man who was born in Fayetteville and died in police custody in Minneapolis, Mayor Mitch Colvin emailed council members saying that the City Council voted in 2015 to replace the Market House logo, and he requested removing it from remaining items like the city’s flag, trash cans,city seal and other items.

The Council voted in favor of Colvin’s request at the end of June 2020.

Another song?

While Black’s song included the Market House reference, another song that was a runner-up in the competition did not.

According to a November 2002 article, the other top song in the running was "I've Got Fayetteville on My Mind" by DeJoyce Milhouse.

Milhouse told the Fayetteville Observer in 2022 that her song had an international feeling “that brings everything to the table.”

Her lyrics state, “I've got Fayetteville on my mind/ I've got Fayetteville on my heart/ I believe in the people of Fayetteville/ I made a vow to do my part.”

The city hasn't had an official song since Black's song was no longer used.

At an October 2021 City Council work session, the Council received a presentation from North Star Place Branding + Marketing about the rebranding effort, which included changes to the city seal and flag.

In December 2021, the council approved North Star’s recommendation that the city adopt the “Can Do” slogan branding.

North Star recommended not having a city song, city documents state.

“The song spanned nearly two decades and was used in a variety of products,” Bymer said Aug. 14. “However, it did not fit into the ‘Can Do Carolina’ effort to rebrand the city of Fayetteville and partner organizations.”

'Can Do' rebranding

The “Can Do” slogan and rebranding was part of a bigger community-wide branding effort that included the city, Cumberland County, the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation, the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, the Greater Fayetteville Chamber, the Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Cool Spring Downtown District.

A video that was part of the rebranding campaign showed scenes of downtown Fayetteville, including Segra Stadium, Festival Park, the Arts Center, restaurants and community charity efforts.

“Our community, our people, our attitude,” a narrator in the video concludes. “Discover everything we can do.”

The brand narrative shared by Bymer states, “We can do it all if we seize the day in full.”

The narrative touts Festival Park , downtown, arts and culture and keeping “track of time well-spent not in hours and minutes but in artifacts seen and fun facts learned.”

“In spreading our creativity as far as we can, so does our reputation for mastering every medium and conquering every stage,” the narrative continues. “We make ‘Can Do’ our go-to as our economy climbs to new heights.”

The narrative states the slogan is a motto for self-starters and has been key in launching locally-owned breweries, restaurants and shops and spurs innovation like working with defense contractors or developing healthcare and technology workers and challenging students at Fayetteville State University, Methodist University and Fayetteville Technical Community College.

“In Fayetteville, we stand united by the lessons of our history, the lifeblood of our traditions, and the promise of our inherited spirit,” the narrative concludes. “To us, it’s an obligation and a duty to make things happen for our country, our community and one another. It’s just what we do. Because we…are Can Do Carolina.”

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville once had a theme song. What happened?