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1[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_ballad_of_jack_and_rose.png]]
2
3[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Things that are named "The Ballad of (Something)".]]
4
5"The" being optional, as is the case with its parent trope, TheXOfY.
6
7Now, actual [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballad Ballad form]] requires specific meter and rhythm, so many of these examples won't fit that classification in its strictest sense (or even its loosest). The trope is about the title of a work, not the song structure. A lot of works use this trope to create a sort of parody title, combining the old-fashioned grandeur suggested by the term "ballad" with the implicit absurdity of the rest of the title.
8
9See also TheSomethingSong and SomethingBlues.
10-----
11!!Examples:
12[[foldercontrol]]
13
14[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
15* The ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "Ballad of Fallen Angels."
16* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': "The Ballad of Ranma and Akane."
17* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'': "The Ballad of Vash the Stampede."
18* ''Literature/BalladOfAShinigami''
19[[/folder]]
20
21[[folder:Comics]]
22* ''ComicBook/TheCouriers'' volume 3 is ''The Ballad of Johnny Funwrecker''
23* ''ComicBook/TheBalladOfHaloJones''
24* [[CompletelyDifferentTitle The French title]] of the seminal ComicBook/{{Lobo}} comic book ''Portrait of a Bastich'' is ''La Ballade de Lobo'' (''The Ballad of Lobo'').
25* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke: Ballad of the Daltons & Other Stories'' (adapted from the 1978 film below)
26[[/folder]]
27
28[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
29* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/35978467 The Ballad of Aximili]]'', an ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' parody of the folk song "William Taylor".
30* "[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/461530/the-ballad-of-maelewano The Ballad of Maelewano]]". For bonus points, it presents itself as part of the zebra oral tradition and is structured in ballad form.
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Film — Animated]]
34* ''WesternAnimation/LuckyLukeBalladOfTheDaltons''
35[[/folder]]
36
37[[folder:Film — Live Action]]
38* ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby''
39* ''Film/BalladOfASoldier''
40* ''Film/TheBalladOfBusterScruggs''
41* ''Film/TheBalladOfCableHogue''
42* ''The Ballad of Harry Warden'' from ''Film/MyBloodyValentine''.
43* ''The Ballad of Jack and Rose''
44* ''Film/TheBalladOfNarayama''
45* ''The Ballad of The Running Man''
46* ''Number 2: The Ballad of [=MonSturd=]'' from ''[=MonSturd=]''.
47* In ''Film/{{UHF}}'', Music/WeirdAlYankovic's Music/DireStraits parody is titled "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" (and credited to Weird Al's character George Newman) after ''Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies'' theme song from which the lyrics have been borrowed. In RealLife, however, Weird Al had to name it "Money For Nothing[=/=]Beverly Hillbillies".
48[[/folder]]
49
50[[folder:Literature]]
51* ''The Ballad of Reading Gaol'' is a poem written by Creator/OscarWilde.
52* "Ballad of a Boneless Chicken" is a children's poem by Jack Prelustky.
53* The English version of Creator/BertoltBrecht's ''Theatre/TheThreepennyOpera'' has "The Ballad of Mack the Knife".
54** Albeit only as a result of something being LostInTranslation; the English meaning of the word "moritat" is MurderBallad.
55* ''Literature/TheBalladOfMulan''
56* "The Ballad of Lost C'Mell" is a novelette written by Creator/CordwainerSmith.
57* "Ballad of the Flexible Bullet" is a short story by Creator/StephenKing.
58* Creator/RudyardKipling was fond of these: "The Ballad of East and West," "The Ballad of the King's Jest," "The Ballad of the King's Mercy," "The Ballad of the Red Earl," etc.
59* Many poems by Robert W. Service: "The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill," "The Ballad of the Black Fox Skin," "The Ballad of the Northern Lights," "The Ballad of Casey's Billy-Goat," etc.
60* "The Ballad of the Lonely Masturbator" is a poem by Creator/AnneSexton.
61* ''The Ballad of the Sad Café'' is a novella by Carson [=McCullers=].
62* ''The Ballad of Beta-2'' is a novel by Creator/SamuelRDelany.
63* Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/AfterDoomsday'' is about a crew of [[ButWhatAboutTheAstronauts spacemen who return to find Earth destroyed]], and write a song in the sector's CommonTongue, called "The Ballad of Brandobar'' to let other Earthlings [[EpicHail know they're alive and can be found at Brandobar]], as well as who nuked Earth.
64* ''Literature/TheBalladOfSongbirdsAndSnakes'' is a prequel book for ''Literature/TheHungerGames''.
65* ''The Ballad of America'' is a songbook with historical commentary by John Anthony Scott.
66[[/folder]]
67
68[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
69* An early ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial, ''The Gunfighters'', had "The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon".
70* The ''Series/GilligansIsland'' theme song is actually called "The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle" (written by creator Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle)
71* The theme to ''Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies'' is "The Ballad of Jed Clampett".
72* An episode of Alton Brown 's ''Series/GoodEats'' featuring foods that are both salty and sweet in nature, was appropriately titled ''The Ballad of Salty and Sweet''.
73* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' has ''The Ballad of Jayne Cobb''.
74** Firefly's opening is ''The Ballad of Serenity''.
75* ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' has "The Ballad of Leonard the Lawyer".
76* ''Series/TheBalladOfBigAl''.
77* ''Series/CriminalMindsBeyondBorders'' had an episode titled "The Ballad of Nick and Nat."
78* As revealed in the ''Series/{{Blackadder}}: The Whole Damn Dynasty'' script book, all the closing themes of ''Blackadder II'' were titled "The Ballad of Blackader the B..." ([[Recap/BlackadderS2E1Bells Boyfriend]], [[Recap/BlackadderS2E2Head Beheader]], [[Recap/BlackadderS2E3Potato Bad Explorer]], [[Recap/BlackadderS2E4Money Bankrupt]], [[Recap/BlackadderS2E5Beer Boozer]], and [[Recap/BlackadderS2E6Chains Bold]]).
79[[/folder]]
80
81[[folder:Music]]
82* "Ballad of The Hip Death Goddess" by Ultimate Spinach, from ''Music/UltimateSpinach''.
83* "[[https://youtu.be/il3c14eR9C8?list=PLjACqN5i5sDUEienDV52g85W6J7chzLXV The Ballad of Jeremiah Peacekeeper]]" by Music/PoetsOfTheFall, a {{Western}} inspired EnnioMorriconePastiche about an implicitly {{Messianic|Archetype}}, ReluctantWarrior lawman.
84* "Ballad of Davy Crockett" by Bill Hayes
85* "Ballad of the Green Berets" by [=SSgt.=] Barry Sadler
86* "Ballad of a Thin Man" by Music/BobDylan, from ''Music/Highway61Revisited''.
87* "The Ballad of Tom Jones" by Music/{{Space}} and Cerys Matthews
88* "Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" also by Music/BobDylan
89** Namer for a [[Music/JudasPriest rather notable band]].
90* "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" by Music/BillyJoel
91** WordOfGod [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnfqSBzEcw8&t=2m30s states]] that "The Ballad of Brenda and Eddie" was the original title for the main part of "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant".
92* "Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" by Leonard [[Franchise/StarTrek "Spock"]] Nimoy
93* "Ballad of Mutt" by Music/BruceDickinson
94* "The Ballad of Mary (Queen of Scotts)" and "Ballad of a Hangman" by Music/GraveDigger
95* "Ballad of William Kidd" by Music/RunningWild
96* "Ballad of a Hard Man" by Music/ThinLizzy
97* "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)" by Music/BigAndRich
98* "Ballad of Obie Trice" by Obie Trice
99* "The Ballad of John and Yoko" by Music/TheBeatles (available on ''Music/PastMasters'')
100* "A Ballad for the Fallen Soldier" by Music/JayZ
101* "Ballad of a Ladyman" by Music/SleaterKinney
102* "The Ballad of Irving" by Frank Gallop
103* "The Ballad of Lester Walker" by The Whitlams
104* "The Ballad of Chasey Lain" by Music/TheBloodhoundGang
105* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Y1v5gVvWc Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes]]", "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdcvyikJUy8 Ballad of A Well-Known Gun]]'', * "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ys_cf6uPs0 The Ballad Of Danny Bailey (1909-34)]]", and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0rSqQCkJlQ The Ballad Of Blind Tom]]" by Music/EltonJohn.
106* "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" by Music/MarianneFaithfull
107* "[[Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies The Ballad of Jed Clampett]]" by Jerry Scoggins. And the one by Music/WeirdAlYankovic.
108* Somewhat of a subversion: "A Ballad to Forget" by Music/{{Soulwax}}
109* "The Ballad of Dan" by The Arrogant Worms
110* "Demon Bell - The Ballad of [[Film/{{Shocker}} Horace Pinker]]" by Dangerous Toys.
111* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W59iNGaHbOo The Ballad]] of [[Series/{{Supernatural}} Jared and Jensen]].
112* If you were watching cartoons in, what, the late 80's or early 90's, you probably remember the incessant PSA called ''The Ballad of Gordon'', though perhaps not by name. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtXoKOwTo2M Here's the vid]], one of the earlier songs by Music/BarenakedLadies.
113* "Ballad of an Ancient Russian Warrior" by Aria
114* "The Ballad of [[Franchise/TheFlash Barry Allen]]" by Jim's Big Ego
115* "The Ballad of Sal Villanueva" by Taking Back Sunday
116* [[Music/AmusedToDeath "The Ballad of Bill Hubbard"]] by Music/RogerWaters, a melancholy {{instrumental}} overlaid with audio from an interview with UsefulNotes/WorldWarI veteran Alf Razzell where he describes being forced to leave the titular soldier behind in No Man's Land.
117* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVxr63WaRrs Ballad of Dwight Fry]]" by Music/AliceCooper from ''Music/LoveItToDeath''.
118* "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" by Music/LynyrdSkynyrd
119* "The Ballad of Resurrection Joe and Rosa Whore" by Music/RobZombie
120* "The Ballad of Marston Moor" by The Music/ElectricLightOrchestra
121* "Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners" by Music/FooFighters
122* "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" by Music/GeorgeHarrison
123* "The Ballad of Springhill Disaster" by Peggy Seeger
124* "The Ballad of Love and Hate" by The Avett Brothers
125* [[Music/AndThenThereWereThree "Ballad of Big"]] by Music/{{Genesis|Band}}.
126* "Ballad of Enchantment" by Jagex Games Studio.
127* "The Ballad of Michael Valentine" by Music/TheKillers.
128* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgpdp3lP8M&feature=branded "The Ballad of Mona Lisa"]] by Music/PanicAtTheDisco.
129* "The Ballad of Johnny X" by The Bouncing Souls.
130* "Ballad of Truth and Lies", "Ballad of Weapon", and "Ballad of Hate" by Music/VladimirVysotsky
131* "Ballad of T.V. Violence (I'm Not the Only Boy)", by Music/CheapTrick
132* "Ballad of a Cold Lost Marble" by Music/{{Sparklehorse}}
133* "Ballad of Jimmy Bones" by Latoya Williams
134* "The Ballad of Big Poppa and Diamond Girl" by Music/CobraStarship
135* "The Ballad of Candlepin Paul" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
136* "The Ballad of [[VideoGame/GearsOfWar Clay Carmine]]" by Music/MiracleOfSound
137* "The Ballad of [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Optimus Prime]]" by Music/TheGreatLukeSki
138* "The Ballad of Cleo and Joe" by Cyndi Lauper
139* "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" by Music/JohnnyCash
140* "The Ballad of Me and My Friends" by Music/FrankTurner
141* "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" by Music/JeffersonAirplane
142* "The Ballad of Death" by DJ Ashba (lead-guitarist in Guns N' Roses and Sixx:A.M.)
143* "The Ballad Of Tommy Clayton & The Rawdawg Millionaire" by Music/OfMiceAndMen.
144* "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" by Georgie Fame
145* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRTM2CvsGd0 The Ballad of Bull]]" by Music/{{Sabaton}}
146* "The Ballad of Buckethead" by Music/{{Buckethead}} featuring Les Claypool on vocals.
147* "The Ballad of Cookie [=McBride=]" by Music/IggyPop.
148* "The Ballad of [[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 Jeff]]" and "Ballad of [[Franchise/FinalFantasy the Mages]]" by {{Music/Brentalfloss}}.
149* "[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi]]'s Ballad" by {{Music/Starbomb}}.
150* "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" by Music/{{XTC}}.
151* "The Ballad of the Leningrad Cowboy" by the Music/LeningradCowboys, part of the soundtrack of [[TheMovie their film]] ''Leningrad Cowboys Go America''.
152* "Ballad of the Alamo" and "The Ballad of Bill Thaxton" by Marty Robbins.
153* "Ballad of Our P.O.W's" by Johnny Price.
154* "Ballad of Yarmouth Castle" by Gordon Lightfoot.
155* "Ballad of Big Nothing" by Music/ElliottSmith.
156* "Ballad of Lydia Pinkham", a BawdySong proclaiming her vegetable compound's supposed "cures".
157* "The Ballad of Jessica Blue", a series of four music videos accompanying Music/ChristinaGrimmie's final EP, ''Side A''.
158* "The Ballad of a Mean Old Queen" by Sheb Wooley.
159* "The Ballad of Jayne" by L.A. Guns.
160* "The Ballad of Harry Lewis" by Creator/AllanSherman.
161* "The Ballad of Old Monroe" by Pete Seeger.
162* '"The Ballad of William Worthy" by Phil Ochs.
163* "The Ballad of Major Andre", a broadside ballad written during the American Revolution.
164[[/folder]]
165
166[[folder:Theater]]
167* The Ballads of Booth, Czolgosz, and Guiteau in ''Theatre/{{Assassins}}''.
168* ''The Ballad of [[Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet Sweeney Todd]].''
169* ''The Ballad of Ollie Deasy''
170* "The Ballad of Sara Berry" from Ryan Scott Oliver's ''Theatre/ThirtyFiveMillimeterAMusicalExhibition''.
171* ''The Ballad of Baby Doe'', an opera.
172* "Ballad of the Robbers" from ''Theatre/KnickerbockerHoliday''.
173* "The Ballad of Farquaad" from ''Theatre/ShrekTheMusical''.
174* "The Ballad of Jane Doe" from ''Theatre/RideTheCyclone''.
175[[/folder]]
176
177[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
178* ''Series/FraggleRock'': In "The Terrible Tunnel", the Storyteller sings "The Ballad of Sir Blunderbrain" to Gobo, Mokey, Boober, and Wembley.
179[[/folder]]
180
181[[folder:Video Games]]
182* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'':
183** [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoClassic The original game's]] soundtrack had a song called "The Ballad of Chapped Lips Calhoun."
184** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV: [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony The Ballad of Gay Tony]]''
185** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': It has a mission for Michael called "The Ballad of Rocco." This is a reference to ''The Ballad of Gay Tony'', where Rocco was an antagonist.
186* ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}: The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot'', cancelled sequel to ''Oddworld: Strangers Wrath''.
187* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
188** The "Ballad of the Wind Fish" theme from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening''.
189** The "Ballad of the Wind Fish" from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' (an entirely different tune)
190** "The Ballad of Twilight" from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess''.
191** The Ballad of Gales in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''.
192** The Ballad of the Goddess from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''.
193* The Ballad of ''VideoGame/FreddyPharkasFrontierPharmacist''.
194* ''VideoGame/SuperMeatBoy'': "The Ballad of The Burning Squirrel", for stages set in Dark World 1.
195* There are three Ballads in ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'', all played by [[MagicMusic Accordion Thieves]]. They are The Power Ballad of the Arrowsmith, The Ballad of Richie Thingfinder, and Donho's Bubbly Ballad.
196* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14H2d13ycYg Ballad of Hyllis,]] one of the most iconic themes from VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil.
197* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vMHe36BuUM Turnabout Sisters' Ballad]] from the first ''Franchise/AceAttorney'', one of the series' most heartwarming themes, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_axzZbzVsBM Reminiscence ~ Steel Samurai's Ballad]] from ''Justice For All'', DarkReprise of the heroic sounding Steel Samurai's theme.
198* ''[[VideoGame/SuperbrothersSwordAndSworceryEP Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP]]'' has ''Ballad of the Space Babies'', the theme used when awakening the sylvan sprites.
199* The seventh installment of the ''VideoGame/DarkParables'' series is ''Ballad of Rapunzel.''
200* The soundtrack to the MMORPG ''[[VideoGame/RuneScape RuneScape]]'' contains the track "Ballad of Enchantment".
201[[/folder]]
202
203[[folder:Webcomics]]
204* "Ballad of Awakening", from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'''s [[Music/{{Homestuck}} Volume 4 compilation]].
205** Also, "The Ballad of Jack Noir" from the [[FakeBand Midnight Crew]] album.
206[[/folder]]
207
208[[folder:Web Original]]
209* Roleplay/TheBalladOfEdgardo, a forum role-play transcript
210* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdXtMPkHnqI The Ballad of Linkara]], from ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'''s [[MilestoneCelebration 200th episode]].
211
212[[/folder]]
213
214[[folder:Western Animation]]
215* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' Is called "The Ballad of Hopadaiah Plantar".
216* WesternAnimation/VeggieTales DTV film ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales: The Ballad of Little Joe''.
217* ''The Ballad of WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken''.
218* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' has the episode "The Ballad of Badbeard," which contains a song entitled, uh, "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment The Ballad of Badbeard]]."
219* The EducationalSong from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM-igYjn6E4 "The Ballad of Magellan".]]
220* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' gives us "The Ballad of Buster Baxter" in one episode, sung by Art Garfunkel.
221* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' gives us "The Ballad of Me, Ramblin' Rodriguez''.
222* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' gives us "The Ballad of Batman" in the AnimatedMusicVideo {{T|heTeaser}}easer for "Night of the Batmen!"
223* ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone'' had "The Ballad of Toe Fu" from the episode of the same name.
224* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' has "The Ballad of Filthy Muck".
225[[/folder]]
226

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