Ballad facts for kids
A ballad is a type of poem or song that tells a story. Often, these stories are set to music. Ballads were very popular in Britain and Ireland from the late Middle Ages until the 1800s. They were also used in places like the Americas, Australia, and North Africa.
Many old ballads were printed and sold on single sheets of paper called broadsides. Poets and composers in the 1700s used this style to create "lyrical ballads." Later, in the 1800s, ballads became known as slow, popular love songs. Today, the word "ballad" can mean almost any love song, especially a pop or rock power ballad.
What is a Power Ballad?
A power ballad is a type of love song. These songs were often included on heavy metal albums in the 1980s.
Power ballads were usually slower than other songs on the album. Their lyrics were also much less aggressive. Bands often hoped these songs would become a Top Forty hit. They were especially common with bands in the hard metal style. Good examples include "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison and "Wanted Dead Or Alive" by Bon Jovi.
Images for kids
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Maria Wiik, "Ballad" (1898)
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A 16th-century printed ballad, A Gest of Robyn Hode
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A copy of Walter Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.
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An 18th-century broadside ballad: The tragical ballad: or, the lady who fell in love with her serving-man.
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Painting based on The Beggar's Opera, Act III Scene 2, by William Hogarth, around 1728
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Statue of John Henry outside Talcott, West Virginia
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Cover to Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection of bush ballads, The Old Bush Songs
See also
In Spanish: Balada para niños
