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RED (Taylor's Version) is out now. Taylor Swift announced her rerecorded album back in June and since then has been dropping tidbits of the album, like track listings and such over the past few months.
This album will include the 30 songs that were originally supposed to be on RED and one of those songs is called "Ronan." "Ronan" was originally a charity song released by Swift that was never on an album. All of the proceeds from the song went to help fight cancer.
In her album announcement, Swift stated that RED (Taylor's Version) is an album full of heartbreak and "Ronan" fits that category perfectly. While most of this album is about a heartbreak from a broken relationship, there are other songs that will rip your heart out of your chest. Who is the little boy who inspired the song "Ronan?" Here is what we know.
9 The Original Song
"Ronan" was released on September 8, 2012, as a charity song by Taylor Swift. The song was supposed to be on her original RED album, but her record executive, Scott Borchetta, did not think it would be a good fit for the album, so she released it as a stand-alone single to help benefit cancer charities. Swift wrote the song after reading Ronan's mom blog about her son after he passed away from cancer. She took quotes directly from the blog and credited his mom as a songwriter.
8 Who Is Ronan?
Ronan Thompson was a four-year-old boy who died from neuroblastoma in 2011. His parents were Maya and Woody and he had two older brothers, Liam and Quinn. One day in 2010, on a vacation to Washington with the family, Ronan's mom noticed that there was something wrong with his eye. It looked a bit lazy, so they scheduled a doctor's appointment. Sadly, doctors found a mass behind his left eye and in his abdomen and diagnosed him with Stage IV Neuroblastoma- a deadly form of childhood cancer.
He had five surgeries to remove the masses, followed up by rounds of chemotherapy. In April 2011, his disease took a turn for the worse and he was no longer responding to chemotherapy. On May 9, 2011, Ronan passed away. His mother promised to keep fighting until a cure is found.
7 What To Know About Neuroblastoma
Neuroblastoma is a cancer that typically forms in the adrenal glands from immature cells and can be found in several areas of the body. It mostly develops in the glands above the kidneys, but also can develop in other areas of the abdomen around the chest, neck and spine. This type of cancer typically affects children 5-years-old and younger. Some forms go away on their own, but most require treatment.
Some symptoms of neuroblastoma are abdominal pain, changes in bowel habits, a mass that isn't tender when touched, changes to the eyes, chest pain, wheezing, fever, unexplained weight loss, bone pain, back pain and lumps under the skin.
6 Stand Up To Cancer Performance
Swift has only performed the heart-breaking song twice. She debuted it at the 2021 Stand Up To Cancer telethon, which raises funds for research to find a cure for cancer. After the singer performed it, the song was available on iTunes and all proceeds went to Taylor Swift Charitable Fund for cancer research.
The second time she performed it was at the 1989 World Tour, when Maya Thompson attended one of her Glendale shows. She sang it in honor of 'Rockstar Ronan.' There was not a dry eye in the house.
5 Ronan's Mother
Ronan's mother, Maya Thompson, is the one who brought attention to Ronan and his disease. She has a blog where she would write about his journey and still keeps his memory alive through those posts, her social media and her family. Maya and her daughter, Poppy met Swift backstage after the 1989 Tour Glendale show and it was an emotional moment for all.
4 Reception
"Ronan" was downloaded over 220,000 times in a week and debuted at number 2 on the Digital Songs Sales Chart, just after Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." On the Billboard Hot 100, the song peaked at number 16 and 34 on the Hot Country SongsChart. It also received universal acclaim from critics with Rolling Stone calling the song, "heartbreaking." Other publications called it Swift's finest hour as an artist.
3 Swift's Personal Connection With The Song
Performing "Ronan" at the 1989 World Tour was not only heartbreaking because of the story behind the song, but also because Swift's life has also been turned upside down by cancer. Shortly before that performance, the "cardigan" singer revealed that her mother, Andrea, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Andrea has been battling this disease for years and after Swift put the song, "Soon You'll Get Better" on her 2019 album, Lover, she revealed her mother is also battling a brain tumor. Revisiting this song in 2021 must have brought back all those memories for both the Swift family anf the Thompsons.
2 Maya's Blog
Her blog, Rockstar Ronan, is still updated to this day, with the latest post dated back to this past August. She updates her readers on aspects of her life, like getting vaccinated and attending her sister's wedding, but mostly she writes about Ronan and his impact on her and the world.
This is how Taylor Swift found out about Ronan and his battle with cancer. "I wouldn't know half as much about what I know about childhood cancer or childhood cancer research if she [Maya Thompson] hadn't shared her story about her son Ronan," Swift said during her 1989 World Tour performance of the song. Since then, they have been in contact and stay friends.
1 Taylor's Version
Now, "Ronan (Taylor's Version)" is finally getting a home. It is track 21 on RED (Taylor's Version) and Maya Thompson could not be happier about it. Swift reached out to Thompson in an email asking if it would be ok to include it on the album and she responded with an astounding yes, after crying about it. Thompson wrote about it in a blog post after Swift revealed the track-listing saying, "[Taylor] is and will always be one of the things I hold dearest to my heart." She was clearly touched by the gesture.
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