[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_ballad_of_jack_and_rose.png]]

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Things that are named "The Ballad of (Something)".]]

"The" being optional, as is the case with its parent trope, TheXOfY.

Now, 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.

See also TheSomethingSong and SomethingBlues.
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!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* The ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "Ballad of Fallen Angels."
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': "The Ballad of Ranma and Akane."
* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'': "The Ballad of Vash the Stampede."
* ''Literature/BalladOfAShinigami''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/TheCouriers'': Volume 3 is titled ''The Ballad of Johnny Funwrecker''.
* ''ComicBook/TheBalladOfHaloJones''
* ''ComicBook/{{Lobo}}'': [[CompletelyDifferentTitle The French title]] of the seminal comic book ''Portrait of a Bastich'' is ''La Ballade de Lobo'' (''The Ballad of Lobo'').
* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'': ''Lucky Luke: Ballad of the Daltons & Other Stories'' (adapted from the 1978 film below)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/35978467 The Ballad of Aximili]]'', an ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' parody of the folk song "William Taylor".
* "[[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.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film — Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/LuckyLukeBalladOfTheDaltons''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film — Live Action]]
* ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby''
* ''Film/BalladOfASoldier''
* ''Film/TheBalladOfBusterScruggs''
* ''Film/TheBalladOfCableHogue''
* ''The Ballad of Harry Warden'' from ''Film/MyBloodyValentine''.
* ''The Ballad of Jack and Rose''
* ''Film/TheBalladOfNarayama''
* ''The Ballad of The Running Man''
* ''Number 2: The Ballad of [=MonSturd=]'' from ''[=MonSturd=]''.
* 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".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''The Ballad of Reading Gaol'' is a poem written by Creator/OscarWilde.
* "Ballad of a Boneless Chicken" is a children's poem by Jack Prelustky.
* The English version of Creator/BertoltBrecht's ''Theatre/TheThreepennyOpera'' has "The Ballad of Mack the Knife".
** Albeit only as a result of something being LostInTranslation; the English meaning of the word "moritat" is MurderBallad.
* ''Literature/TheBalladOfMulan''
* "The Ballad of Lost C'Mell" is a novelette written by Creator/CordwainerSmith.
* "Ballad of the Flexible Bullet" is a short story by Creator/StephenKing.
* 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.
* 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.
* "The Ballad of the Lonely Masturbator" is a poem by Creator/AnneSexton.
* ''The Ballad of the Sad Café'' is a novella by Carson [=McCullers=].
* ''The Ballad of Beta-2'' is a novel by Creator/SamuelRDelany.
* 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.
* ''Literature/TheBalladOfSongbirdsAndSnakes'' is a prequel book for ''Literature/TheHungerGames''.
* ''The Ballad of America'' is a songbook with historical commentary by John Anthony Scott.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* An early ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial, ''The Gunfighters'', had "The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon".
* The ''Series/GilligansIsland'' theme song is actually called "The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle" (written by creator Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle)
* The theme to ''Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies'' is "The Ballad of Jed Clampett".
* 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''.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' has ''The Ballad of Jayne Cobb''.
** Firefly's opening is ''The Ballad of Serenity''.
* ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' has "The Ballad of Leonard the Lawyer".
* ''Series/TheBalladOfBigAl''.
* ''Series/CriminalMindsBeyondBorders'' had an episode titled "The Ballad of Nick and Nat."
* 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]]).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* "Ballad of The Hip Death Goddess" by Ultimate Spinach, from ''Music/UltimateSpinach''.
* "[[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.
* "Ballad of Davy Crockett" by Bill Hayes
* "Ballad of the Green Berets" by [=SSgt.=] Barry Sadler
* "Ballad of a Thin Man" by Music/BobDylan, from ''Music/Highway61Revisited''.
* "The Ballad of Tom Jones" by Music/{{Space}} and Cerys Matthews
* "Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" also by Music/BobDylan
** Namer for a [[Music/JudasPriest rather notable band]].
* "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" by Music/BillyJoel
** 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".
* "Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" by Leonard [[Franchise/StarTrek "Spock"]] Nimoy
* "Ballad of Mutt" by Music/BruceDickinson
* "The Ballad of Mary (Queen of Scotts)" and "Ballad of a Hangman" by Music/GraveDigger
* "Ballad of William Kidd" by Music/RunningWild
* "Ballad of a Hard Man" by Music/ThinLizzy
* "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)" by Music/BigAndRich
* "Ballad of Obie Trice" by Obie Trice
* "The Ballad of John and Yoko" by Music/TheBeatles (available on ''Music/PastMasters'')
* "A Ballad for the Fallen Soldier" by Music/JayZ
* "Ballad of a Ladyman" by Music/SleaterKinney
* "The Ballad of Irving" by Frank Gallop
* "The Ballad of Lester Walker" by The Whitlams
* "The Ballad of Chasey Lain" by Music/TheBloodhoundGang
* "[[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.
* "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" by Music/MarianneFaithfull
* "[[Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies The Ballad of Jed Clampett]]" by Jerry Scoggins. And the one by Music/WeirdAlYankovic.
* Somewhat of a subversion: "A Ballad to Forget" by Music/{{Soulwax}}
* "The Ballad of Dan" by The Arrogant Worms
* "Demon Bell - The Ballad of [[Film/{{Shocker}} Horace Pinker]]" by Dangerous Toys.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W59iNGaHbOo The Ballad]] of [[Series/{{Supernatural}} Jared and Jensen]].
* 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.
* "Ballad of an Ancient Russian Warrior" by Aria
* "The Ballad of [[Franchise/TheFlash Barry Allen]]" by Jim's Big Ego
* "The Ballad of Sal Villanueva" by Taking Back Sunday
* [[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.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVxr63WaRrs Ballad of Dwight Fry]]" by Music/AliceCooper from ''Music/LoveItToDeath''.
* "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" by Music/LynyrdSkynyrd
* "The Ballad of Resurrection Joe and Rosa Whore" by Music/RobZombie
* "The Ballad of Marston Moor" by The Music/ElectricLightOrchestra
* "Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners" by Music/FooFighters
* "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" by Music/GeorgeHarrison
* "The Ballad of Springhill Disaster" by Peggy Seeger
* "The Ballad of Love and Hate" by The Avett Brothers
* [[Music/AndThenThereWereThree "Ballad of Big"]] by Music/{{Genesis|Band}}.
* "Ballad of Enchantment" by Jagex Games Studio.
* "The Ballad of Michael Valentine" by Music/TheKillers.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgpdp3lP8M&feature=branded "The Ballad of Mona Lisa"]] by Music/PanicAtTheDisco.
* "The Ballad of Johnny X" by The Bouncing Souls.
* "Ballad of Truth and Lies", "Ballad of Weapon", and "Ballad of Hate" by Music/VladimirVysotsky
* "Ballad of T.V. Violence (I'm Not the Only Boy)", by Music/CheapTrick
* "Ballad of a Cold Lost Marble" by Music/{{Sparklehorse}}
* "Ballad of Jimmy Bones" by Latoya Williams
* "The Ballad of Big Poppa and Diamond Girl" by Music/CobraStarship
* "The Ballad of Candlepin Paul" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
* "The Ballad of [[VideoGame/GearsOfWar Clay Carmine]]" by Music/MiracleOfSound
* "The Ballad of [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Optimus Prime]]" by Music/TheGreatLukeSki
* "The Ballad of Cleo and Joe" by Cyndi Lauper
* "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" by Music/JohnnyCash
* "The Ballad of Me and My Friends" by Music/FrankTurner
* "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" by Music/JeffersonAirplane
* "The Ballad of Death" by DJ Ashba (lead-guitarist in Guns N' Roses and Sixx:A.M.)
* "The Ballad Of Tommy Clayton & The Rawdawg Millionaire" by Music/OfMiceAndMen.
* "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" by Georgie Fame
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRTM2CvsGd0 The Ballad of Bull]]" by Music/{{Sabaton}}
* "The Ballad of Buckethead" by Music/{{Buckethead}} featuring Les Claypool on vocals.
* "The Ballad of Cookie [=McBride=]" by Music/IggyPop.
* "The Ballad of [[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 Jeff]]" and "Ballad of [[Franchise/FinalFantasy the Mages]]" by {{Music/Brentalfloss}}.
* "[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi]]'s Ballad" by {{Music/Starbomb}}.
* "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" by Music/{{XTC}}.
* "The Ballad of the Leningrad Cowboy" by the Music/LeningradCowboys, part of the soundtrack of [[TheMovie their film]] ''Leningrad Cowboys Go America''.
* "Ballad of the Alamo" and "The Ballad of Bill Thaxton" by Marty Robbins.
* "Ballad of Our P.O.W's" by Johnny Price.
* "Ballad of Yarmouth Castle" by Gordon Lightfoot.
* "Ballad of Big Nothing" by Music/ElliottSmith.
* "Ballad of Lydia Pinkham", a BawdySong proclaiming her vegetable compound's supposed "cures".
* "The Ballad of Jessica Blue", a series of four music videos accompanying Music/ChristinaGrimmie's final EP, ''Side A''.
* "The Ballad of a Mean Old Queen" by Sheb Wooley.
* "The Ballad of Jayne" by L.A. Guns.
* "The Ballad of Harry Lewis" by Creator/AllanSherman.
* "The Ballad of Old Monroe" by Pete Seeger.
* '"The Ballad of William Worthy" by Phil Ochs.
* "The Ballad of Major Andre", a broadside ballad written during the American Revolution.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]
* The Ballads of Booth, Czolgosz, and Guiteau in ''Theatre/{{Assassins}}''.
* ''The Ballad of [[Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet Sweeney Todd]].''
* ''The Ballad of Ollie Deasy''
* "The Ballad of Sara Berry" from Ryan Scott Oliver's ''Theatre/ThirtyFiveMillimeterAMusicalExhibition''.
* ''The Ballad of Baby Doe'', an opera.
* "Ballad of the Robbers" from ''Theatre/KnickerbockerHoliday''.
* "The Ballad of Farquaad" from ''Theatre/ShrekTheMusical''.
* "The Ballad of Jane Doe" from ''Theatre/RideTheCyclone''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* ''Series/FraggleRock'': In "The Terrible Tunnel", the Storyteller sings "The Ballad of Sir Blunderbrain" to Gobo, Mokey, Boober, and Wembley.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'':
** [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoClassic The original game's]] soundtrack had a song called "The Ballad of Chapped Lips Calhoun."
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV: [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony The Ballad of Gay Tony]]''
** ''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.
* ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}: The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot'', cancelled sequel to ''Oddworld: Strangers Wrath''.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** The "Ballad of the Wind Fish" theme from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening''.
** The "Ballad of the Wind Fish" from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' (an entirely different tune)
** "The Ballad of Twilight" from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess''.
** The Ballad of Gales in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''.
** The Ballad of the Goddess from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''.
* The Ballad of ''VideoGame/FreddyPharkasFrontierPharmacist''.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMeatBoy'': "The Ballad of The Burning Squirrel", for stages set in Dark World 1.
* 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.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14H2d13ycYg Ballad of Hyllis,]] one of the most iconic themes from VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil.
* [[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.
* ''[[VideoGame/SuperbrothersSwordAndSworceryEP Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP]]'' has ''Ballad of the Space Babies'', the theme used when awakening the sylvan sprites.
* The seventh installment of the ''VideoGame/DarkParables'' series is ''Ballad of Rapunzel.''
* The soundtrack to the MMORPG ''[[VideoGame/RuneScape RuneScape]]'' contains the track "Ballad of Enchantment".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* "Ballad of Awakening", from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'''s [[Music/{{Homestuck}} Volume 4 compilation]].
** Also, "The Ballad of Jack Noir" from the [[FakeBand Midnight Crew]] album.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Roleplay/TheBalladOfEdgardo, a forum role-play transcript
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdXtMPkHnqI The Ballad of Linkara]], from ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'''s [[MilestoneCelebration 200th episode]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' Is called "The Ballad of Hopadaiah Plantar".
* WesternAnimation/VeggieTales DTV film ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales: The Ballad of Little Joe''.
* ''The Ballad of WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken''.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' has the episode "The Ballad of Badbeard," which contains a song entitled, uh, "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment The Ballad of Badbeard]]."
* The EducationalSong from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM-igYjn6E4 "The Ballad of Magellan".]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' gives us "The Ballad of Buster Baxter" in one episode, sung by Art Garfunkel.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' gives us "The Ballad of Me, Ramblin' Rodriguez''.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' gives us "The Ballad of Batman" in the AnimatedMusicVideo {{T|heTeaser}}easer for "Night of the Batmen!"
* ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone'' had "The Ballad of Toe Fu" from the episode of the same name.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' has "The Ballad of Filthy Muck".
[[/folder]]

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