A popular narrative song passed down orally. In the English tradition, it usually follows a form of rhymed (abcb) quatrains alternating four-stress and three-stress lines. Folk (or traditional) ballad [..]

Ballad, derived from the late Latin verb ballare (to dance), came to be used primarily to describe a folksong of narrative character or a song or poem written in imitation of such a folksong. The title Ballade was used by Chopin to describe four piano pieces of otherwise concealed narrative content, apparently based on narrative poems of ballad typ [..]

late 15c., from French ballade "dancing song" (13c.), from Old Provençal ballada "(poem for a) dance," from balar "to dance," from Late Latin ballare "to dance" [..]

poem or verse often set to music, originally composed of a poem with the metre of iambic tetrameter followed by iambic trimeter.

A slow song, usually of a romantic nature; sometimes used for any song of the AABA or similar popular song form.

A form of poetry or verse that tells a story or folk tale, sometimes set to music. Most ballads have these elements: An abrupt beginning Simple language A story told through dialogue and action A chorus Four-line or six-line stanzas.

n. Any popular narrative poem, often with epic subject and usually in lyric form.

A narrative poem

a verse narrative that is, or originally was, meant to be sung. Characterized by repetition and often by a refrain (a recurrent phrase or series of phrases), ballads were originally a folk creation, t [..]

A narrative poem composed of short verses, intended to be sung or recited.

A narrative poem which was originally sung and so often includes a refrain. Ballads tend to tell simple stories in simple language. See Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and Keats’s “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” for literary imitations of the ballad form.

A song which tells a story.

A narrative poem, usually written in quatrains with abcb rhyme scheme (q.v.).

 – a narrative poem telling a story a person or event often about love usually told in rhymed stanzas and which includes a repeated refrain.  Ballads are often sung.

A narrative poem or song with a repeating refrain. A ballad often tells the story of a historical event or retells a folk legend. Example: “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe.

Originally, an orally transmitted narrative song composed in an impersonal style for public performance, often sung to a traditional tune that served as a musical accompaniment to a dance. Most ballad [..]

A simple song of natural construction, usually in the narrative or descriptive form. A ballad usually has several verses of similar construction and may or may not have a refrain.

Term originating from the Portuguese word balada meaning 'dancing-song'. However, it normally refers to either a simple song e.g. Danny Boy or to a narrative poem (often with a tragic ending [..]

A slow tune. Ballad playing is replete with its own idiomatic devices.

(n) a narrative song with a recurrent refrain(n) a narrative poem of popular origin

A poem that tells a story, often of a historic, legendary or fairy-tale character.

a slow tempo song.

A narrative, sentimental poem set to music.

(as used in Musical Theatre) – Music with a slower tempo, often of a serious nature.

1) Simple narrative song in verses, in earlier time somewhat impersonal, later often of romantic or sentimental character. 2) Literary text in this style.

A ballad is a song. Think boy bands and chest-thumping emotion. Maybe a few tears. But in poetry, a ballad is also an ancient form of storytelling. In the wayback days, common people didn't get t [..]