A Chippenham College music student who has written a moving ballad for her three pals from Calne who died tragically in a crash at Derry Hill is hoping that a professional producer will now help her record it as a lasting tribute to her friends.

Kate Galloway’s song, Forever In Our Hearts, has poignant verses each dedicated to her young friends Matthew Parke, Corey Owen and Ryan Nelson, who died in an accident on the A4 in August last year, and her words have touched the hearts of the young men’s families.

For 19-year-old Matthew, Kate wrote:

“Yeah Mattie, you were my best friend, I loved more even at the very end. Oh, how I would do anything to see you come through that door again and smile on your face. You had so much potential and now I'm just sitting at my front door waiting for that sound to know that your home safe and sound again, but I know you’re in a better place, until we meet again.”

The second verse is dedicated to Ryan, who was 20:

“Yeah Ryan, you were my boy, my pride and joy. You were great when it came to making them 808s. Every time I'm look at the sky I see my angel flying high. I know you’re in a better place but I miss seeing your face, your cheeky smile and that grin. It broke my heart but I know a piece of you will forever be in my heart.”

The last verse is for Corey, who was 19:

“Yeah Corey, you will be forever young. You will always be my oldest one. Those bright blue eyes and smile will never leave me alone for a while. Can we just go back to how it used to be, drinking fosters and just having a chilled one please.”

Kate, who is from Calne, composed the song around the time of the anniversary of the deaths of her friends and she said she hoped that it may help their families in their grief at their loss.

“The boys were all my mates, I’d known them for about two years. I hope that the song may be some comfort for their families, a song that they can go to. I spoke to them during the writing and they were a great help,” she said.

Amanda Parke, Matthew’s mum, commented: “Our family is very grateful to Kate, she has put her heart and soul into the song, it’s a lovely tribute to the boys and their memory shines through it. I know that Mattie would love to have his own song.”

Tess Owen, Corey’s mum, said: “When Kate presented us with this beautiful song for Corey and his friends it overwhelmed me. Kate has truly given me something I can cherish forever, there aren’t enough words to express how much it means to me and Corey’s family. Kate is a very talented lady with a beautiful voice, I will forever be grateful.”

Kerry Nelson, Ryan’s mum, added: “We are so honoured and grateful that Kate has put so much time and effort into creating a beautiful piece of music for our lovely, lovely boys. Thank you so much Kate, it means a lot.”

Kate, 20, submitted Forever In Our Hearts for her end of year project at Chippenham College, where she is studying music. After she finishes college next year she aims to go to university to study music and psychology with a view to becoming a music therapist, working with children with special needs.

She performed the song at a college Christmas event and, even though the audience did not know her friends, she was pleased by the reaction.

“It was really well received,” she said, “The people there didn’t really know what the song was about but they still gave it a great response.”

Although Kate has demo’ed the song, she would now like to make a proper recording of it and hopes that any producers in Wiltshire can help.

“I’d very much like to take it into a recording studio and have it properly produced, that would be something special I could do for my lovely friends,” she said.

A YouTube post of Kate performing Forever In Our Hearts at her college can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbvRUgTizFc