A beautiful charity single, Ronan was recorded by Taylor Swift in 2012.
She was inspired by the true story of Ronan Thompson, a four-year-old who suffered and died of neuroblastoma.
The singer came in contact with his story through his mother's personal blog, which she used from the moment of the diagnosis until the end.
Swift composed the lyrics only from Maya Thompson's post from the blog. The singer invited her to one of her concerts, in Glendale, Arizona, to ask for permission to record and perform the song.
The single was preceded by "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", released earlier that year, and followed by "Begin Again", which was released later.
Taylor Swift first performed it at the "Stand Up to Cancer" telethon, in early September 2012.
It was officially released for digital download on September 8th, 2012. It was included on the album she was working on at the moment, "Red", and all the income resulted from the single sales go directly to charity.
It was released through Big Machine Records.
As the lyrics were mainly posts from a blog, Taylor Swift also credited Maya Thompson for the writing. The country folk song has a duration of 4:25 minutes.
A touching song, Ronan has been praised by all music critics, who described it as "heartbreaking".
Swift's vocal performance also received acclaim and it had named her "finest hour as an artist".
The single was released in the United States, and it reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it debuted at number two on the Hot Digital Songs chart. It also reached number 34 on the the US Hot Country Songs.
The single has had over 200 thousand downloads in just one week.
Ronan sold more than half million copies in the United States and it was certified gold by the RIAA.
The track is considered to be one of Taylor Swift's most touching songs.
The strong emotional component of its message has reached the hearts of all its listeners. The story behind the song has also had a powerful impact on the audience, as did the intentions of the artist to give up any financial compensation and redirect the income and royalties to charity causes.
Below, you will find the free piano sheet for Ronan and discover his story through the notes.
