The Taylor Swift song “Ronan” will appear on Red (Taylor’s Version).
The track, written about four-year-old Ronan Thompson who died from cancer, was previously released as an iTunes-only song, However, his mother Maya, who is credited as a co-writer on the song, shared the news that it would be included on the album on her blog Friday (July 30th).
Thompson posted a letter from the “Cardigan” singer that read, “I’ve recently completed the re-recording of my 4th album, ‘Red'. It’s really exceeded my expectations in so many ways, and one of those ways is that I thought it would be appropriate to add ‘Ronan’ to this album. ‘Red’ was an album of heartbreak and healing, of rage and rawness, of tragedy and trauma, and of the loss of an imagined future alongside someone.
“I wrote Ronan while I was making ‘Red’ and discovered your story as you so honestly and devastatingly told it. My genuine hope is that you’ll agree with me that this song should be included on this album. As my co-writer and the rightful owner of this story in its entirety, your opinion and approval of this idea really matters to me, and I’ll honor your wishes here.”
Thompson confirmed on her Rockstar Ronan blog that she did give the singer permission to include the song.