Ballad of X

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

See also The Something Song and Something Blues. Note: actual Ballad form requires specific meter and rhythm, and not all of these examples fit that classification in its strictest sense. The trope is about the name not the song structure.

Examples of Ballad of X include:

Anime

• The Cowboy Bebop episode "Ballad of Fallen Angels."
• Ranma ½: "The Ballad of Ranma and Akane."
• Trigun: "The Ballad of Vash the Stampede."

Comics

• The Ballad of Halo Jones
• "Lucky Luke: The Ballad of The Dalton Brothers", and its animated counterpart.

Film

• Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
• Ballad of Jack and Rose
• Ballad of Cable Hogue
• The Ballad of Harry Warden from My Bloody Valentine.
• Number 2: The Ballad of MonSturd from MonSturd.

Literature

• The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a poem written by Oscar Wilde.
• "Ballad of a Boneless Chicken" is a children's poem by Jack Prelustky.
• The english version of Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera has "The Ballad of Mack the Knife".
• "The Ballad of Lost C'Mell" is a novelette written by Cordwainer Smith.

Live Action TV

• An early Doctor Who serial, The Gunfighters, had "The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon".
• The Gilligan's Island theme song is actually called "The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle" (written by creator Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle)
• An episode of Alton Brown 's Good Eats featuring foods that are both salty and sweet in nature, was appropriately titled The Ballad of Salty and Sweet.
• Firefly has The Ballad of Jayne Cobb.
  • Firefly's opening is The Ballad of Serenity.
• Whose Line Is It Anyway has "The Ballad of Leonard the Lawyer".
• Walking with Dinosaurs has The Ballad of Big Al

Music

• "The Ballad of Jeremiah Peacekeeper" by Poets of the Fall
• "Ballad of Davy Crockett" by Bill Hayes
• "Ballad of the Green Berets" by SSgt. Barry Sadler
• "Ballad of a Thin Man" by Bob Dylan
• "The Ballad Of Tom Jones" by Space and Cerys Matthews
• "Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" also by Bob Dylan
  • Namer for a rather notable band.
• "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" by Billy Joel
• "Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" by Leonard "Spock" Nimoy
• "Ballad of Mutt" by Bruce Dickinson
• "The Ballad of Mary (Queen of Scotts)" and "Ballad of a Hangman" by Grave Digger
• "Ballad of William Kidd" by Running Wild
• "Ballad of a Hard Man" by Thin Lizzy
• "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)" by Big & Rich
• "Ballad of Obie Trice" by Obie Trice
• "The Ballad of John and Yoko" by The Beatles
• "A Ballad for the Fallen Soldier" by Jay-Z
• "Ballad Of A Ladyman" by Sleater-Kinney
• "The Ballad Of Irving" by Frank Gallop.
• "The Ballad of Lester Walker" by The Whitlams
• "The Ballad of Chasey Lain" by The Bloodhound Gang
• "Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes" by Elton John
• "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" by Marianne Faithfull
• "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" by Jerry Scoggins. And the one by "Weird Al" Yankovic.
• Somewhat of a subversion: "A Ballad to Forget" by Soulwax
• "The Ballad of Dan" by The Arrogant Worms
• "Demon Bell - The Ballad of Horace Pinker" by Dangerous Toys.
• The Ballad of 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. Here's the vid, one of the earlier songs by Barenaked Ladies.
• "Ballad of an Ancient Russian Warrior" by Aria
• "The Ballad of Barry Allen" by Jim's Big Ego
• "The Ballad of Sal Villanueva" by Taking Back Sunday
• "The Ballad of Bill Hubbard" by Roger Waters
• "Ballad of Dwight Fry" by Alice Cooper.
• "The Ballad Of Curtis Loew" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
• "The Ballad of Resurrection Joe and Rosa Whore" by Rob Zombie
• "The Ballad of Marston Moor" by The Electric Light Orchestra
• "Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners" by Foo Fighters
• "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" by George Harrison
• "The Ballad of Springhill Disaster" by Peggy Seeger
• "The Ballad of Love and Hate" by The Avett Brothers
• "Ballad of Big" by Genesis.
• "Ballad of Enchantment" by Jagex Games Studio.
• "The Ballad of Michael Valentine" by The Killers.
• "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" by Panic! at the Disco.
• The Ballad of Johnny X, by The Bouncing Souls.
• "The Ballad Of Danny Bailey (1909-34)" by Elton John.
• "Ballad of Truth and Lies", "Ballad of Weapon", and "Ballad of Hate" by Vladimir Vysotsky
• "Ballad of T.V. Violence (I'm Not the Only Boy)", by Cheap Trick
• "Ballad of a Cold Lost Marble" by Sparklehorse
• "Ballad of Jimmy Bones" by Latoya Williams
• "The Ballad of Big Poppa and Diamond Girl" by Cobra Starship
• "The Ballad Of Candlepin Paul" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
• "The Ballad of Clay Carmine" by Miracle of Sound

Theater

• The Ballads of Booth, Czolgosz, and Guiteau in Assassins.
• "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd."

Video Games

• Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony
• Oddworld: The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot, cancelled sequel to Oddworld: Strangers Wrath.
• Zelda:
  • The "Ballad of the Wind Fish" theme from The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening.
  • The "Ballad of the Wind Fish" from The Legend of Zelda Majoras Mask (an entirely different tune)
  • "The Ballad of Twilight" from The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess.
  • The Ballad of Gales in The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker.
  • The Ballad of the Goddess from The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword.
• The Ballad of Freddy Pharkas, Frontier Pharmacist.
• The Ballad of The Burning Squirrel.
• There are three Ballads in Kingdom of Loathing, all played by Accordion Theives. They are The Power Ballad of the Arrowsmith, The Ballad of Richie Thingfinder, and Donho's Bubbly Ballad.
• Ballad of Hyllis, one of the most iconic themes from Beyond Good and Evil.
• Turnabout Sisters' Ballad from the first Ace Attorney, one of the series' most heartharming themes, and Reminiscence ~ Steel Samurai's Ballad from Justice For All, Dark Reprise of the heroic sounding Steel Samurai's theme.

Web Comics

• "Ballad of Awakening", from Homestuck's Volume 4 compilation.
  • Also, "The Ballad of Jack Noir" from the Midnight Crew album.

Western Animation

• Veggie Tales DTV film Veggie Tales: The Ballad of Little Joe.
• The Ballad of Cow and Chicken.
• Phineas and Ferb has the episode "The Ballad of Badbeard," which contains a song entitled, uh, "The Ballad of Badbeard."
• The Educational Song from Animaniacs: "The Ballad of Magellan".