Australian musician Paul Kelly has written a song called Northern Rivers on his Rivers and Rain compilation album.

While the song was written before the floods, its release is a poignant tribute to the Northern Rivers and a girl.

The song begins:

She was born by Northern Rivers

Where the land breathes fire and flood

She can tell the coming weather

In her bones, her body and her blood.

Well, she grew up on Northern Rivers

Coloured birds sang her out of bed each day

She made friends with wild creatures

They were her dreaming, her study and her play

She’s kind of wild too, hard to keep in view

The more I know her, the less I do.

Water features in many of Kelly’s songs including So much water close to home and others.

This article appeared on indyNR.com on 1 August 2022.