ballad Hear it!

ballad Definition

bal·lad (bal′əd)

noun

  1. a romantic or sentimental song with the same melody for each stanza
  2. a song or poem that tells a story in short stanzas and simple words, with repetition, refrain, etc.: most old ballads are of unknown authorship and have been handed down orally in more than one version
  3. a slow, sentimental popular song, esp. a love song

Etymology: ME balad < OFr ballade, dancing song < OProv ballada, (poem for a) dance < balar, to dance < LL ballare: see ball

ballad Synonyms

ballad

n.

popular song, folk song, love song, narrative poem, lay; see also poetry, song, story.

ballad Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • sing: Harry stepped in singing Scottish ballads, with instant success.
  • haunt: They remind a little bit of early Pixies mixing gentle but haunting ballads which suddenly explode into guitar noise.
  • compose: He nonetheless continued to compose shorter ballads based primarily on Border traditions.
  • entitle: Our next piece, ostensibly more promising, is a ballad entitled Botany Bay.
  • write: In 1897, at Berneval, Oscar Wilde wrote The Ballad of Reading Jail.

Adjective modifier

  • lyrical: It was first published in Lyrical Ballads, with a few other poems in 1798.
  • soulful: Monty's Amen Describe it in 20 words Lively R&B tunes with a few slower soulful ballads to help balance things out.
  • romantic: A far cry from the romantic solo ballads to follow.
  • wistful: The title track is the album's strongest - a pleasing, wistful ballad accompanied by echoing guitars and drums.
  • sentimental: He realized that his style was more suited to slow, sentimental ballads, which became his trademark.
  • gorgeous: Oasis turns in a relatively introspective second record, filled with big, gorgeous ballads instead of ripping rockers.

Modifies a noun

  • singer: Can Merthyr First heard about the year 1848 being performed by an old ballad singer on the market square at Merthyr Tydfil.
  • opera: The opera was praised by oboist William Parke for demonstrating how far English opera had developed from ballad opera.
  • singing: Discussion of Jeannie Robertson's style and the importance of travelers to the Folk Revival, especially in storytelling and ballad singing.

Noun used with modifier

  • broadside: On the other hand, broadside ballad printers do not seem to have been noted for their observation of social niceties.
  • bothy: I remember him once singing a snatch from the bothy ballad The Dying Ploughboy.
  • mid-tempo: And goodness, there's a lot of optimism, just as there are a lot of majestic mid-tempo ballads.
  • bluesy: The bluesy Ballad of a Balladeer shows the experience he's gathered along the road to here.
  • piano: From piano ballad to funk to heavy hard rock.
  • folk: For various reasons I've just spent a while researching the history of the famous folk ballad Matty Groves.