Taylor Swifts cancer-telethon triumph tinged with pathos
Operators were standing by when Taylor Swift performed her heart-rending new song on the Stand Up to Cancer telethon on Sept. 7. Ronan, laconic pathos-pop in the misty-eyed tradition of Terry Jackss Seasons in the Sun and Henry Grosss Shannon, concerns a stunningly cute boy (Ronan Thompson) who died before reaching the age of 5.
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Taylor Swift at the 2012 Academy of Country Music Awards APMusic
A studio version of the song quickly shot to t! he top of the iTunes download chart.
Swift split the songs writing credits with the childs mother, Maya Thompson, who blogged about Ronans battle with neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer.
The Grammy-winning singer, along with millions of others, faithfully followed the blog (rockstarronan.com), in which Maya Thompson took great pains to be honest and frank about Ronans fight. Swift is donating her royalties from the song to cancer charities; Thompsons share is being directed to the Ronan Thompson Foundation.
Come on baby with me, were gonna fly away from here, the affecting chorus goes, Out of this curtained room, and this hospital grey will just disappear.
Swifts label has confirmed via Twitter that Ronan is not on her forthcoming Red album, but has indicated it may have to rethink" about adding it to the record, given the songs popularity.