Ronan (song)

"Ronan"
Cover art of "Ronan", showing texts on a black background
Single by Taylor Swift
ReleasedSeptember 8, 2012 (2012-09-08)
GenreSoft rock
Length4:25
LabelBig Machine
Songwriter(s)
  • Taylor Swift
  • Maya Thompson
Producer(s)Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift singles chronology
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
(2012)
"Ronan"
(2012)
"Begin Again"
(2012)

"Ronan" is a charity single by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was registered as a single with RIAA on September 7,[1] then released as an iTunes-exclusive download on September 8, 2012, by Big Machine Records. The lyrics are based on a blog by Maya Thompson about her three-year-old son Ronan, who died from neuroblastoma in 2011. Swift wrote and produced the song by putting together quotes from the blog, crediting Thompson as co-writer. All proceeds from sales of "Ronan" were donated for charity causes to raise awareness of and fight against cancer.

Musically, "Ronan" is a soft rock ballad instrumented by a sole finger-picked guitar with occasional piano tunes and minimal drum brushes. Music critics have lauded the song artistically, deeming it a prime example of Swift's abilities as a singer-songwriter to evoke vivid emotional sentiments through her songwriting.[2][3][4][5] The single peaked at number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. A re-recorded version, "Ronan (Taylor's Version)", was included in Swift's 2021 re-recorded album Red (Taylor's Version).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference RIAA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (November 9, 2017). "Why Taylor Swift's 'Ronan' Is Her Best Song Never to Appear on an Album: Critic's Take". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  3. ^ "Why Does Taylor Swift Write So Many One-Note Melodies?". BBC News. November 8, 2017. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  4. ^ Sheffield, Rob (October 26, 2021). "'Ronan' (2012)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  5. ^ Petridis, Alexis (April 26, 2019). "Taylor Swift's Singles – Ranked". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.