"Ave Maria" is a song by American R&B recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008). Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench and Makeba Riddick wrote the song in collaboration with its producers Knowles and production duo Stargate. As stated by Ghost, "Ave Maria" was inspired by Knowles' and her own respective marriages. The song is a re-write of Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria". It is instrumentally complete with a piano and strings. Throughout the ballad, Knowles sings in a lower register with an operatic soprano. Lyrically, it speaks about being surrounded by friends but still feeling alone.