Skyler Derrington, 12, performed her own version of Leonard Cohen’s song, “Hallelujah,” at FOX Nation’s seventh annual Patriot Awards Thursday, Nov. 6. The rendition was inspired by her experience of the catastrophic flooding that hit Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas, over the Fourth of July weekend. After Derrington’s performance, she received the first ever FOX Nation Faith Award.
“I wrote it…in honor of all of the girls at our camp, for those that we just lost, to honor them and to remember that, y’know, God has a plan for all of us,” Derrington explained in an appearance on “Fox & Friends” in late July. “And even though that rough stuff can happen sometimes, that doesn’t normally happen, and there was no blame or fault.” She said that she wanted to “honor them and just to sing and remind people what happened.”
Skyler Derrington Receives Faith Award at FOX Nation Patriot Awards
Over 100 people, including 27 girls and counselors, died when Central Texas experienced calamitous flash flooding over the Fourth of July weekend. At the time, there were about 750 girls attending Camp Mystic, which lies along the Guadalupe River.
Much of the camp, which was established in 1926, was destroyed as the river rose 26 feet in 45 minutes. The younger campers’ cabins were closest to the river, and many of the girls who died in the flood were 8 or 9 years old.
Derrington said that her cabin was the closest to the Guadalupe River, and that Camp Mystic director Richard Eastland, who died in the flooding, helped her and others escape. In response to where her faith comes from, Derrington told “Fox & Friends,” “My whole life, I’ve always believed in Jesus and going to church.”
She said that going through the natural disaster has helped her faith to grow, adding, “I’ve always been a Christian and just believed that God is with me no matter what happens.”
FOX News co-host of “The Big Weekend Show” Tomi Lahren, Fox News host Emily Compagno, and former White House press secretary and FOX News co-host of “Outnumbered” Kayleigh McEnany introduced Derrington at the Fox Nation Patriot Awards Thursday night. The awards show honors “America’s finest patriots, including military veterans, first responders and other inspirational everyday heroes,” according to a press release.
Skyler Derrington, 12, performed her own version of Leonard Cohen’s song, “Hallelujah,” at FOX Nation’s seventh annual Patriot Awards Thursday, Nov. 6.Click to PostAt the awards show, Erika Kirk received the inaugural Charlie Kirk Legacy Award. Last year at the Patriot Awards, Clarence McCallister, the deacon who tackled a gunman to protect his pastor in the middle of a Sunday service, received the Award for Bravery.
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After being introduced, Derrington came on stage and performed her rendition of Leonard Cohen’s song a capella. Her lyrics read in part:
I heard there was a giant flood
But we were washed in Jesus’ blood
And you don’t really care for my news, do ya
On July 4, 2025, the water rose, and we went adrift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
