# I want more true ballads... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834 "2007-07-15T05:43:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![whatami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/85f322/32.png) [@whatami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatami)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/1 "2007-07-15T05:43:21Z")
Recently, while putzing around on youtube, I came across Gordon Lightfoot’s [Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA5EnNIl80A) , which I haven’t heard in forever. Listening to it reminds me of an old Irish song or something… you know what I mean? It tells a story, it brings feeling, it makes brings tears to my eyes… I’m looking for more ballads like this. Something that tells a story (it doesn’t really matter if it’s real, but it’s better I think). Anyone have any good suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![whatami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/85f322/32.png) [@whatami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatami)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/2 "2007-07-15T05:50:21Z")
(after looking) Please don’t include this… well, I don’t know that words can describe it, but it’s bad, it’s worse than bad! I almost threw up bad… Lenord Nimoy singing the [Ballad of Bilbo Baggins](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC73PHdQX04) ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/3 "2007-07-15T06:03:10Z")
[The Highwayman](http://www.potw.org/archive/potw85.html) should do it for you. …and please find the lovely, urgent, haunting Phil Ochs version, _not_ the dull Loreena McKennit one. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/4 "2007-07-15T06:04:46Z")
What about another beautiful Gordon Lightfoot song - [If You Could Read My Mind](http://sharrysplace.com/Lyrics/Pop/if-you-could-read-my-mind.html)? I’ve always been partial to [Brandy](http://www.superseventies.com/sl_brandy.html) and [Wildfire](http://www.smartlyrics.com/Song47844-M-Wildfire-lyrics.aspx). ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/5 "2007-07-15T07:02:06Z")
I’d suggest a song that I first heard of through the Dope: [Cold Missouri Waters](http://www.mysongbook.de/msb/songs/c/coldmiss.html) by Cry, Cry, Cry. Of course, part of it is that I loved the book that inspired the song. Depending on your tastes, you might want to review your Jimmy Buffett - a lot of his songs are ballads. Off the top of my head: [The Captain and the Kid](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/The-Captain-and-the-Kid-lyrics-Jimmy-Buffett/1DA52F543CE273AB482569A10011D16E), [Margaritaville](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/j/jimmy+buffett/margaritaville_20071892.html), [Fins](http://www.oracleband.net/Lyrics/fins.htm), [The Great Filling Station Hold Up](http://www.mp3-download-lyrics.com/music/Jimmy-Buffett/Great-Filling-Station-Holdup_97091.html), [Jolly Mon Song](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/jimmy-buffett-jolly-mon-lyrics.html), and [Sending the Old Man Home](http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/jimmy_buffett_lyrics_4491/volcano_lyrics_27243/sending_the_old_man_home_lyrics_297920.html) all qualify. Also, many Scots/Irish folk songs are ballads. And, I don’t think you should forget Harry Chapin for some really lovely, heartbreaking ballads. [Sniper](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/harry-chapin/sniper.html), [The Rock](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/harry-chapin/the-rock.html), [A Better Place to Be](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/harry-chapin/a-better-place-to-be.html), [Taxi](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/harry-chapin/taxi.html), [Sequel](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/harry-chapin/sequel.html), [Dance Band on the Titanic](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/harry-chapin/dance-band-on-the-titanic.html)… Some other of my favorite ballads: [Crusader](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/chris+de+burgh/crusader_20030230.html) by Chris de Burgh. (Great song. Awful history.) Port of Call by Battlefield Band Two by Johnny Horton: [The Battle of New Orleans](http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/johnny_horton/the_battle_of_new_orleans.html) (though that’s really just an adaptation of a folk ballad); and [Sink the Bismark!](http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/johnny_horton/sink_the_bismark.html) [Space Oddity](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/david+bowie/space+oddity_20036711.html) by David Bowie Rah, Rah Rasputin by Boiled in Lead (Great song. Gooood history.) [The Miller’s Will](http://www3.clearlight.com/~acsa/introjs.htm?/~acsa/songfile/MILLERSW.HTM) is a fun, traditional ballad. A less traditional ballad that I, personally, love is [It’s a Long Way from Amphioxus](http://www.ediacara.org/songs.html). (AIUI the song is now bad science, but I don’t care!) Alas the only recording I know of it is the Folkways recording on the album, “Sam Hinton Sings the Songs of Men.” Whether that’s in print or available as a CD is beyond my knowledge… ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/6 "2007-07-15T07:06:49Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Rah, Rah Rasputin by Boiled in Lead (Great song. Gooood history.) [/QUOTE] Is this the same one [Bony M](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvDMlk3kSYg) covered? I love that song! My parents had the 8 Track when I was a kid. It is good history!!! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/7 "2007-07-15T07:13:03Z")
Please clarify: when you say “true ballads”, you could mean songs that are written in the traditional ballad form, such as _Lord Randall_, or perhaps _Froggy Went a-Courtin’_, or you could mean ballads that tell stories of events that actuallyoccurred, such as _The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald_. Which sense of the term “true ballads” are you intending, here? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/8 "2007-07-15T07:21:32Z")
[QUOTE=Glory] Is this the same one [Bony M](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvDMlk3kSYg) covered? [/QUOTE] It does seem to be the same song, and given the dates involved - I suspect Boiled in Lead is doing a cover, too. Bony M may well be the original. > [@myself](#): > > A less traditional ballad that I, personally, love is It’s a Long Way from Amphioxus. (AIUI the song is now bad science, but I don’t care!) Alas the only recording I know of it is the Folkways recording on the album, “Sam Hinton Sings the Songs of Men.” Whether that’s in print or available as a CD is beyond my knowledge… I just found out that Folkways in releasing most (if not all) of their catalog on CD, now. This album is available, [here](http://www.folkways.si.edu/search/AlbumDetails.aspx?ID=278). Dammit more places to spend money I don’t have. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/9 "2007-07-15T07:33:03Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Bony M may well be the original. [/QUOTE] They are. It was written by their producer. Who is also the lead singer on the albums, but not live, apparently. Also, their name has an e in it - [Boney M](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boney_M). ---
**Author:** ![whatami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/85f322/32.png) [@whatami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatami)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/10 "2007-07-15T07:41:25Z")
Thanks for some great suggestions! The Highwayman was great, basically the exact type of song I’m looking for. The version I cam across was with [Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Weylon Jennings](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw1bHaUk1CM) . Crusader was good too. I’m pretty familiar with most of Buffet’s stuff, as it’s pretty much a standard at some karoke bars I go to. I didn’t even think of Chapin, and I really should have known that one. The Scot and Irish songs is kinda what got me on this track. I was checking out a video of [The Dubliners](http://www.geocities.com/toeye/dubliners/) singing Whiskey in the Jar and that got me thinking. I knew the dope would have the answer! **kaylasdad99** , I’ve got to confess that I don’t really know the “true” traditional ballad, but I think you got the idea of what I was looking for. Looking at Wikipedia, I can see what you’re getting at for traditional, but that’s not what I’m really looking for, or specifically, I should say. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/11 "2007-07-15T07:56:00Z")
Just wanted to be sure that we don’t have to confine ourselves to the factual… ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/12 "2007-07-15T15:24:31Z")
[QUOTE=whatami] … I’m looking for more ballads like this. Something that tells a story (it doesn’t really matter if it’s real, but it’s better I think). Anyone have any good suggestions? [/QUOTE] Here’s the Scottish ballad of “Sir Patrick Spens”, oh yes, a ballad. Tells a story involving misery, danger and death and it is very long. 🙂 [http://sites.scran.ac.uk/scottish\_poetry\_library/browse\_popularpoems\_sirpatrickspens.html](http://sites.scran.ac.uk/scottish_poetry_library/browse_popularpoems_sirpatrickspens.html) ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/13 "2007-07-15T15:32:41Z")
How about the English song “Matty Groves”? Tells a story, involves sex, danger and, oh yes, violent death. 😃 [http://www.lyricsdownload.com/fairport-convention-matty-groves-lyrics.html](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/fairport-convention-matty-groves-lyrics.html) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/14 "2007-07-15T15:34:13Z")
[The Ballad of John and Yoko](http://www.sing365.com/music/Lyric.nsf/The-Ballad-of-John-And-Yoko-lyrics-The-Beatles/2C0F78061E07CB9E48256BC2001CFCA6) – The Beatles [QUOTE=whatami] (after looking) Please don’t include this… well, I don’t know that words can describe it, but it’s bad, it’s worse than bad! I almost threw up bad… Lenord Nimoy singing the [Ballad of Bilbo Baggins](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC73PHdQX04) [/QUOTE] I think Peter Jackson should watch that if he decides to do The Hobbit. It really captures the spirit of Tolkien’s spirit, I think. Especially the chicks wearing Spock ears. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/15 "2007-07-15T15:35:38Z")
[QUOTE=whatami] Recently, while putzing around on youtube, I came across Gordon Lightfoot’s [Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA5EnNIl80A) , which I haven’t heard in forever. Listening to it reminds me of an old Irish song or something… you know what I mean? It tells a story, it brings feeling, it makes brings tears to my eyes… I’m looking for more ballads like this. Something that tells a story (it doesn’t really matter if it’s real, but it’s better I think). [/QUOTE] I would recommend finding more 1970s “soft rock”. The likes of James Taylor, Cat Stevens, John Denver, Jimmy Buffet, etc. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/16 "2007-07-15T15:41:56Z")
How about **Hey Joe**? Now there’s a story. Or this [David Bowie - Ballad of the adventurers Lyrics](http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/d/davidbowie1040/balladoftheadventurers623415.html) (It’s says david bowie but it’s brecht) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/17 "2007-07-15T15:51:01Z")
You’ll probably find plenty of examples of what your looking for in the thread [Songs that tell a good story?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=418003), particularly since its OP gives “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” as an example. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/18 "2007-07-15T16:29:05Z")
Country music is full of ballads. For some with a “rockin’” edge, try Steve Earle. He had an album in the mid-90s called “Train a Comin’” that has a couple great ones, especially the song “Ben McCullough.” Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/19 "2007-07-15T16:40:24Z")
All off the top of my head or a brief perusal of my mp3 library: 1. \*\*Twelve \*\*by Wolfsheim 2. **Whiskey in the Jar** by Metallica 3. **Tales of Brave Ulysses** by Cream 4. \*\*Big Iron \*\*and **El Paso** by Marty Robbins 5. **Copperhead Road** by Steve Earle 6. **Blasphemous Rumours** by Depeche Mode 7. \*\*Shasta (Carrie’s Song) \*\*by Vienna Teng 8. **Sad, Sad Song** by M. Ward 9. **Sunken Waltz** by Calexico 10. \*\*Bombay Cafe \*\*by Sarah Fimm 11. \*\*Garmana \*\*by Gamen (in Swedish but it’s a ballad and a kickass song besides) 12. **Joan of Arc** by Allison Crowe (originally by Leonard Cohen but I am unfamiliar with that version) 13. **Call the Ships to Port** by Covenant (doesn’t quite fit but gives me the same feeling a ballad does) 14. **A Boy Named Sue** , **Cocaine Blues** , **Folsom Prison Blues** , **I Got Stripes** , **The Devil Went Back to Georgia** and god knows what else by Johnny Cash 15. **Stagger Lee** , **Supernaturally** , **The Ballad of Robert Moore and Betty Coltrane** , **The Curse of Millhaven** , and **Where the Wild Roses Grow** by Nick Cave ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834/20 "2007-07-15T17:14:05Z")
Another rich source for ballads is that sub-genre of folk music called ‘filk.’ Basically, it’s folk music with an SF/Fantasy theme. Though - the definition can get kind of fuzzy. Traditional ballads often get adopted wholesale, there’s at least one filk singer who has been putting much of Kipling’s poetry to music. Alas, it’s often hard to find. Some of the lyrics for songs I’ve liked that I could find are linked here: [Dawson’s Christian](http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/songs/dawsons-christian.html), by Duane Elms [Flowers for Algernon](http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/songs/flowers-for-algernon.html), by Kathy Mar [Operation Desert Storm](http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/songs/operation-desert-storm.html), by Tom Smith (It’s not what you think it’s about.) [Threes](http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/songs/threes.html), by Mercedes Lackey and Leslie Fish [Captain Jack and the Mermaid](http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/songs/captain-jack.html), by Meg Davis [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-more-true-ballads/411834.md?page=2)