Ballad Poetry
A poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas; can be adapted for singing; is often sentimental or romantic; has a
repetitive refrain; emphasizes strong rhythms, repetition of key phrases, and rhymes
 Tells a story - generally tell a story in a very direct manner; do not have to be about love
 Uses imagery - often use vivid and expressive imagery to relay a tale
 Can be put to music – can often easily be put to music.
“The Ballad Of The Drover” Henry Lawson
Across the stony ridges,
Across the rolling plain,
The thunder from above him
Young Harry Dale, the drover,
Goes rolling o'er the plain;
Comes riding home again.
And down on thirsty pastures
And well his stock-horse bears him,
In torrents falls the rain.
And light of heart is he,
And every creek and gully
And stoutly his old pack-horse
Sends forth its little flood,
Is trotting by his knee.
Till the river runs a banker,
All stained with yellow mud.
Up Queensland way with cattle
Now Harry speaks to Rover,
He travelled regions vast;
The best dog on the plains,
And many months have vanished
And to his hardy horses,
Since home-folk saw him last.
And strokes their shaggy manes;
He hums a song of someone
`We've breasted bigger rivers
He hopes to marry soon;
When floods were at their height
And hobble-chains and camp-ware
Nor shall this gutter stop us
Keep jingling to the tune.
From getting home to-night!'
Beyond the hazy dado
Against the lower skies
And yon blue line of ranges
The homestead station lies.
And thitherward the drover
Jogs through the lazy noon,
While hobble-chains and camp-ware
Are jingling to a tune.
The thunder growls a warning,
The ghastly lightnings gleam,
As the drover turns his horses
To swim the fatal stream.
But, oh! the flood runs stronger
Than e'er it ran before;
The saddle-horse is failing,
And only half-way o'er!
An hour has filled the heavens
With storm-clouds inky black;
At times the lightning trickles
Around the drover's track;
But Harry pushes onward,
His horses' strength he tries,
In hope to reach the river
Before the flood shall rise.
When flashes next the lightning,
The flood's grey breast is blank,
And a cattle dog and pack-horse
Are struggling up the bank.
But in the lonely homestead
The girl will wait in vain -He'll never pass the stations
In charge of stock again.
The faithful dog a moment
Sits panting on the bank,
And then swims through the current
To where his master sank.
And round and round in circles
He fights with failing strength,
Till, borne down by the waters,
The old dog sinks at length.
Across the flooded lowlands
And slopes of sodden loam
The pack-horse struggles onward,
To take dumb tidings home.
And mud-stained, wet, and weary,
Through ranges dark goes he;
While hobble-chains and tinware
Are sounding eerily.
The floods are in the ocean,
The stream is clear again,
And now a verdant carpet
Is stretched across the plain.
But someone's eyes are saddened,
And someone's heart still bleeds
In sorrow for the drover
Who sleeps among the reeds.
"The Ballad Of The Green Berets" Barry Sadler and Robin Moore
Fighting soldiers from the sky
Fearless men who jump and die
Men who mean just what they say
The brave men of the Green Beret
Trained to live off nature's land
Trained in combat, hand-to-hand
Men who fight by night and day
Courage peak from the Green Beret
Back at home a young wife waits
Her Green Beret has met his fate
He has died for those oppressed
Leaving her his last request
Silver wings upon their chest
These are men, America's best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win the Green Beret
Silver wings upon their chest
These are men, America's best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win the Green Beret
Put silver wings on my son's chest
Make him one of America's best
He'll be a man they'll test one day
Have him win the Green Beret
Ballad in Music:
"More Than A Feeling," Boston
I looked out this morning and the sun was gone
Turned on some music to start my day
I lost myself in a familiar song
I closed my eyes and I slipped away
It's more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they
used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
'Till I see Marianne walk away
I see my Marianne walkin' away
It's more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they
used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
'Till I see Marianne walk away
I see my Marianne walkin' away
When I'm tired and thinking cold
I hide in my music, forget the day
And dream of a girl I used to know
I closed my eyes and she slipped away
She slipped away
So many people have come and gone
Their faces fade as the years go by
Yet I still recall as I wander on
As clear as the sun in the summer sky
It's more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they
used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
'Till I see Marianne walk away
Important Definitions:
*Rhyme: Rhyme is the repetition of accented vowel sounds and all sounds following them in words that are close
together in a poem.
*The pattern of end rhymes in a poem is called its _____________ ______________ and is indicated by assigning
each new end rhyme a different letter of the alphabet.
Journal: On your paper, think of event. Write down the information you know about the event. When did it
happen? What happened? Where did it happen? List any other details you can remember from that event.
Now, use the information to write the first draft of a ballad.
 Make a when, what, and where statement, and then add more information about what is happening.
Arrange the information in a rhyming pattern (abcb)
 Continue the story, in rhyme, describing what happens next. This can be one or more stanzas - use as many
as you need to tell your story.
 Describe how the story ends. Finish the stanza with a thoughtful line to end your ballad.
Now, revise your draft and write it on a clean sheet of paper.
Take It Further!
Now! Create three short poems. Each poem should have a different rhyme scheme and you should write out the
rhyme scheme beside the lines of the poem. See below for an example:
A book of versus underneath the Bough,
A jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread – and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness-Oh, Wilderness were Paradise now!
a
a
b
a