International songwriter Phil Coulter sang of The Town I Loved So Well while Londonderry was convulsed with violence during the Northern Ireland conflict.
Now he hopes the city can finally enjoy the "bright brand new day" he envisaged in the famous song as it bids to become UK City of Culture in 2013.
Mr Coulter said: "No city deserves it more and for Derry to be recognised as the City of Culture 2013 would be the ultimate affirmation of the 'bright brand new day' in the town I loved so well."
Leaning heavily on its emergence from violence to become a regional centre for the arts, number crunchers predict Derry, as it is known to most in this nationalist-dominated city, could enjoy a multimillion-pound windfall if successful. It is one of four cities bidding for the title. The others are Birmingham, Norwich and Sheffield.
The year 2013 will mark the 400th anniversary of the Plantation of Ulster by settlers from Great Britain and the building in 1613 of the Walled City of Derry.
But bid organisers are looking to the future with an explosion of theatres and performing spaces including the Millennium Forum and Nerve Centre for youth culture.
The schedule for 2013 would include everything from Punk Idol - aimed at finding a successor for famous rockers the Undertones - to a celebration of Polish independence day in recognition of the large minority community.
University of Ulster academic Kate Bond said: "Derry has always been a very cultural city. Years ago it was running festivals which brought a calibre of art to Derry. The city has always had that strong tradition, but in recent years there's been a strengthening of the infrastructure that is to a large extent unrivalled elsewhere.
"The bid will provide a strong opportunity for collaborative endeavours, certain initiatives born out of gifted and determined individuals.
"This is an opportunity for the whole city to work together and to draw much larger sections (of the community). It provides a real focus and an opportunity for that to happen in an inclusive way, that is the real potential for the city to be part of."
She said a jazz festival earlier this month and Halloween parties showed what the city is capable of.
Ms Bond added: "Derry has always had a huge tradition of engagement in the arts and culture going back decades - it is known as a city of music and song."
The Playhouse theatre was established in 1992 with a grant of just £300. Since then it has grown to become one of Ireland's leading community art resource centres based on a neutral site in the city centre. It has a 189-seat theatre, a dance studio and art gallery.
Kieran Goss and Damien Rice are among artists who performed there. It has hosted the Field Day Theatre Company, established by playwright Brian Friel and actor Stephen Rea.
Playhouse general manager Niall McCaughan said the theatre is going from strength to strength and reaching out to a new generation. "Trying to get young children into the arts is like trying to give somebody the needle. You want to give people an infection for the arts at an early age and that will stay with them," he said.
In February the venue hosted Still, the Blackbird Sings - Incidents At Ebrington Barracks, by Dave Duggan, which reinvents dramatic events in the life of Irish poet-soldier Francis Ledwidge. It finds him and his squad members in Ebrington Barracks in 1916 in the middle of World War I asking the questions: "Why return to the front when we have already survived three campaigns? Can we trick death again? Should we desert?"
Other themes dealt with include the decline of the textile industry in the area and paramilitary arms decommissioning. Mr McCaughan added: "Theatre provides a mechanism to explore untold stories and looking at the Troubles. It is not simply about that process of engaging people but also entertaining people and providing a better quality of life for them.
"There is great talent here in Northern Ireland. The City of Culture bid will certainly put the north on the map."
Judges want to see a city undergoing a "step change", a winning place that would be significantly transformed by the title.
Nationalists have been in a wrangle with unionists, with Sinn Fein expressing concerns that the city would be the UK City of Culture when they and many other nationalists feel more comfortable building links with the Irish Republic. There has also been an effort to change the city's official name from Londonderry to Derry.
Mr McCaughan said: "Although Derry has issues, that is one of the reasons why it would go through. There's not been enough funding towards new and challenging theatre and that is what I am hoping there will be."
Ebrington Barracks, in the Protestant-dominated part of the city known as the Waterside, is a former army base, part of which is being transformed into a public space for leisure use.
A military base since 1841 when the army constructed a star fort (now listed and still largely intact), the fort walls are being restored to their former glory. Overlooking the River Foyle, the parade ground is the centrepiece of the base. A new Peace Bridge, in recognition of the city's unique status, will run from Ebrington to the rear of the neo-Gothic style Guildhall which hosts monthly Derry City Council meetings in nationalist Cityside.