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ballad

ballad

62 3.7
A song or poem that tells a story, often from folk tradition
  • noun
  • /ˈbæləd/
  • Literature
translation icon : balada
  • Jackfish sang old Irish ballads that made him so sad he cried, especially "Danny Boy."
  • folk ballads
  • sing ballads
  • popular ballads

His disco was amazing, his ballads were unbelievable.

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Examples

  • They're as American as apple pie: ballads, blues, bluegrass, Broadway, and jazz.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Maybe, one day, someone will sing ballads of me.

  • I found out there not only a ballad, but the right ballad.

  • -Let's go from the top of the ballad and see what we get, huh?

  • Is it because you were in the wrong key during the ballad?

  • Her poems, most frequently cast in the ballad form, are neither especially strong nor outstanding.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Rock 'n' roll became the music of discotheques, and the rock ballad took hold of youth tastes.

    Academic text (1991)
  • To inform the listener was the original purpose of ballads of this type.

    Academic text (1997)
  • It's all the anthems and dance crazes and ballads and marches.

  • The singer performed a beautiful ballad that told a story of lost love.

Synonyms

lay
vsballad
  • Archaic
87 9.9

A short narrative poem or song from medieval times, often meant to be sung

is not limited to medieval origins and can be folk or modern
folk song
vsballad
11 2.2

A song people in a place sing for a long time that tells their stories

is specifically a song that tells a story rather than any traditional song
folk ballad
vsballad
1 3.5

A traditional story song sung by ordinary people about love or history

is a story song that can be literary or not passed down
ballade
vsballad
  • Literature
1 9.9

A French poem with three parts and a short final part that tells a story and repeats a line

is a narrative song or poem without that rigid French stanza structure
lai
vsballad
  • Archaic
9.9

A short medieval poem that tells a romantic story from legend

is generally longer and can tell various stories beyond romantic medieval themes

Compounds

1 3.5

A traditional story song sung by ordinary people about love or history

A person who writes the words or music of songs that tell a story

How Narrative

epic
  • Literature
44 5.5
ballad
  • Literature
62 3.7
song
1.0
lyric
  • Literature
42 4.6

Surface Forms

ballad singular
ballads plural

Etymology

Ballad comes from an old Latin word ballare, which means 'dance', and is like the English word ball (a dance) because these songs were first sung for dancing and often told a story with a simple beat. So today a ballad is a song or poem that tells a story.