SHE woke from a dream with the feeling of holding her beloved late daughter, Gabby.
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Patrice Larkin went straight to her piano and wrote a song about the experience “in about five minutes”.
A Dream is one of three songs on a CD she has produced to help raise money for Make-A-Wish Australia, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.
The Moyhu resident said she decided to help Make-A-Wish when she heard 12 months ago that the group was struggling to get donations.
She had written another song on the CD, Fairies, about a cancer-stricken girl called Mikayla who she heard about from a Melbourne radio interview.
“And so there was the fairy song and I’d already done some songs for Gabby,” she said.
“Ros (Pollard, the vocalist on the CD) wanted to put the dream song on it because she thought it was so beautiful as a lullaby.”
Gabby died from a rare and aggressive cancer in June, 2009, when she was just 16.
Mrs Larkin said Gabby would “absolutely love” the CD, which was recorded at the Montrose studio of a “friend-of-a-friend”.
“She would love to know that I’ve done this for her,” she said.”
“It’s something that keeps me going — I’ve got another album coming out next year with songs that are all quite different.
“Make-A-Wish is such a good cause.
“To be able to give those kids something to look forward to is really important.”
Ms Pollard said she had got to know Mrs Larkin and her husband, Phil, through their ownership of the Moyhu general store.
“I was keen to get on board with the CD and raise some money for a good cause,” she said.
“It’s a different style with that we’ve created with Patrice’s songs from what I usually do, which is things like jazz, rock and pop.
Ms Pollard said the CD’s three songs were well-written.
And the recordings “have come up beautifully”.
“I couldn’t be happier — people need to hear it,” she said.
Make A Wish is available for $5 from The Music Man in Wangaratta, the Milawa Cheese Factory, the Milawa Bakery, Michelson’s Dental Surgery in Wangaratta and the Moyhu general store.
Any other retailers interested in stocking the CD can contact the Larkins on (03) 5727 9260 or Make-A-Wish Australia on (03) 9426 0777.