ROMY Devlin knew exactly what to do to lift the spirits of Queenslanders after the recent floods – she wrote a song.
The eight-year-old student from St Kieran’s Prim-ary School, Brighton, wrote the lyric and music for Dancing in Queensland, a testimony to the “never say die” spirit found in Queensland people.
Romy, who moved to Queensland from South Australia last year, wanted to help those affected by the floods, but being so young limited her abilities.
So eventually thought: “What about a song to lift up their spirits because music normally makes people want to dance and be happy and cheer up”.
“So my aim became to lift their spirits though music.”
Romy said she received a lot of encouragement from mum Nicole and dad Anthony.
Nicole said Romy, like most children in Queensland, was upset and traumatised by the floods that affected Brisbane and other Queensland areas.
She wrote the lyrics and composed the music independently, with no input from Mum and Dad into her creation.
“It was incredible to see how Romy reacted in such a proactive way to this disaster to our state,” Nicole said.
“I think people will be moved by what she has written.
“It has certainly helped us to all feel extremely connected to Queensland, and we definitely consider ourselves to be ‘Queenslanders’ now.”
St Kieran’s principal Charlotte Robinson said the school community was “extremely” proud of what Romy had done.
“Her empathy for those affected by the floods is to be commended,” she said.
“Our students and even our parent community have been so impressed with how clever she is and they are really delighted that we are encouraging her.”
She said although the Brighton suburb suffered minimal damage from the floods, people did know others who had suffered and they wanted to help in their own little way. To hear Romy’s song contact St Kieran’s on (07) 3269 5989.
