Ballad Recommendations

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

DS8 & I both enjoy poetics. I shared one of my favorite poems, The Highwayman, with him a few weeks ago & today we read Bingen on the Rhine.

I appreciate that both ballads use clear imagery & accessible-enough language that DS can get the gist of the story on the first read-through, which we then shore up stanza by stanza to glean further detail & discuss new vocabulary.

I plan to read Poe’s The Raven, as that’s a classic, but I’d really like to find some shorter & thematically lighter selections. What can you recommend within the following parameters? 

> Clear narrative in mostly-modern language 

> Fewer than 100 lines (ideally closer to 50)

> Nothing overly dark / violent

> Not risqué (love is fine; no overt sex) 

> Not particularly religious

[Quarter Note]

Hi @Shoes+Ships+SealingWax.  What fun you and your son must be having! Here are some favorites of mine that may work for your son. (By the way, I'm assuming that you mean “ballad” in the general sense of a story told in verse, and not the very specific ballad meter and rhyme scheme. I've noted the one that's not in formal ballad form).

The Wreck of the Hesperus – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (formal ballad form)

Lochinvar – Sir Walter Scott (not formal ballad form, but an exciting story)

The Song of the Wandering Aengus – William Butler Yeats (formal ballad form)

It's hard to find ballads/narrative poems with lighter themes (most of them are exciting but sad), but if you really want something lighthearted in formal ballad form, you can always look at the lyrics to “The Ballad of Gilligan's Island”. (I'm serious, just in case you're wondering! When I'm looking at a poem and trying to determine if it's in ballad form, it's easier for me to ask myself, “Can I sing it to the tune of 'Gilligan's Island'?” than to remember “four stressed feet plus three stressed feet in an ABCB quatrain”.)

 

(I have to ask – are your selections of “The Highway Man” and “Bingen on the Rhein” inspired by Anne of Green Gables?)

[Lori D.]

"John Henry" (anonymous)
"The Charge of the Light Brigade" (Alfred Tennyson)
"The Walrus and the Carpenter" (Lewis Carroll)

and possibly... ballads written AS songs?
"I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" (Elvis Presley)
"Ballad of the Green Berets" (Barry Sadler)
"Ghost Riders in the Sky" (Marty Robbins) 

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by Lori D.

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

3 hours ago, Quarter Note said:

(I have to ask – are your selections of “The Highway Man” and “Bingen on the Rhein” inspired by Anne of Green Gables?)

Bingen on the Rhine was indeed inspired by Anne of Green Gables. It’s our current read aloud. DS surprised me with his selection, but he loves it so far! 

The Highwayman has been a beloved poem of mine since at least high school. Loreena McKennitt sings a gorgeous rendition of it. 

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

5 hours ago, Lori D. said:

Lewis Carroll

Oh, he *adores* Carroll - we’re very familiar with The Walrus & the Carpenter! 

Thank you for reminding me about Charge of the Light Brigade! I’ve referenced it in the past as an example of trochaic meter, but I don’t believe we’ve ever read it in it’s entirely. I’ll have to rectify that! 

John Henry’s a good one, as well - though I may save that until we’re a bit further along in history. It’ll be more impactful with context, I think. 

I’ll have to look into the songs. I love presenting ballads that way, as so many were intended to be sung. They’re a great bridge to modern music. 

[Melissa in Australia]

Banjo Patterson Bush Ballads.  all very famous Australian ballads 

Clancy of The Overflow, 1889.

The man from Snowy River, 1890

The man from Ironbark, 1892

Mulga Bill's bicycle, 1896

The Story of Mongrel Grey, 1896

Waltzing Matilda, 1903

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

14 hours ago, Quarter Note said:

The Song of the Wandering Aengus – William Butler Yeats (formal ballad form

Oh my goodness, I didn’t realize this was actually a famous poem in its own right!! We came across this in a book this past summer; Math & Magic in Camelot. The same book included a mimic poem of The Highwayman, which is why I introduced it to DS.  

These are all fabulous; thank you! 🥰

[Not_a_Number]

What a fun thread! 😄 No contributions, but I just wanted to say thanks for starting this. I'm hoping at some point we get our acts together enough to read some of these. 

[Melissa in Australia]

7 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

What a fun thread! 😄 No contributions, but I just wanted to say thanks for starting this. I'm hoping at some point we get our acts together enough to read some of these. 

Some of the Banjo Patterson ballads are very short and very funny.

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

17 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Banjo Patterson Bush Ballads.  all very famous Australian ballads 

Clancy of The Overflow, 1889.

The man from Snowy River, 1890

The man from Ironbark, 1892

Mulga Bill's bicycle, 1896

The Story of Mongrel Grey, 1896

Waltzing Matilda, 1903

Thanks! I think Waltzing Matilda might go over his head, but Mulga Bill is hilarious & he’d likely enjoy Mongrel Grey as well.

Clancy of the Overflow makes me think of the fable Town Mouse & Country Mouse; I wonder if Clancy found his lifestyle as romantic as his friend..