Subject: RE: definition of a ballad
From: Jim Carroll - PM
Date: 29 Aug 08 - 11:30 AM

There is an interesting chapter on the literary ballad in Evelyn Well's The Ballad Tree. It's fascinating to see how the literary poets failed to hit the mark by overpadding and overstating.
For me, the strength of the traditional ballad lies in its use of the vernacular.
Kipling tried so hard to imitate the language of the ordinary soldier but, to my ears, always came out as trite and patronising.
There is a beautiful verse in an American version of The Golden Vanitee, which captures both the language and the experience of working people perfectly;

"Some were playing cards and some were playing dice,
And some were standing round giving good advice....

That could only have been written by somebody who has witnessed what goes on at lunchtime in a factory or some other workplace.
Jim Carroll ,
spot on, Jim,
re the good advice,or some other workplace,reminds me of the betting shop.