Taylor Swift has invited Maya Thompson, the mother whose blog inspired the song "Ronan," to her May 12 concert on what would have been her child’s sixteenth birthday.
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As Swifties well know, the song "Ronan" is written from the perspective of a heartbroken and grieving mother, who is actually real-life Maya Thompson. Her son, Ronan, was diagnosed with Stage Four neuroblastoma at three years old. He battled childhood cancer for approximately a year until his tragic passing in 2011, just days before his fourth birthday.
Given that the song was directly inspired by Thompson’s story and even contains words directly from her blog "Rockstar Ronan," she is credited as a co-writer on both the original and Taylor’s version. Lyrics like, “Come on, baby, with me / We're gonna fly away from here / Out of this curtained room / In this hospital grey, we'll just disappear” and “You were my best four years,” make the ballad one of her most powerful songs to date.
To honor her and her son, Swift has invited Thompson to this week’s sold-out Eras concert in Philadelphia on May 12, which would have been Ronan’s sixteenth birthday. “This year, on Ronan's birthday, I'll be in Philadelphia attending the Era's tour thanks to @taylorswift13,” Thompson wrote across her social media accounts. “This day is usually difficult for me, but I've found that giving back in some way brings me comfort. As a part of this effort, we'll be making a donation to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and I'll share more information about this soon.”
Thompson has become an outstanding advocate towards research and treatment of children’s cancer, and founded the Ronan Thompson Foundation. The volunteer non-profit dedicates its time to awareness and funding clinical trials, as it reports 98% of research initiatives are unfunded. The Foundation has undoubtedly benefited from Swift’s song as well, which experienced a recent resurgence after being redone into “Taylor’s Version.”
It’s quite likely that she will perform the ballad as well, which will be a real tear-jerker in the presence of her hometown stadium and Maya Thompson. “Let's come together to celebrate and honor Ronan's Day of Love,” she wrote.
Check out Swift's official lyric video for “Ronan (Taylor’s Version)” below.
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