Subdued rant to follow:

Damn it all! If one is to use a word, it helps if bothe the communicator and comunicatee agree on what the word means. While "ballad" started out as something that could be danced to, and most recently has come to be used for any slow pop tune, there's a good reason for limiting its folk use to "a narrative song that tells a story". That's how Child used it, as well as Bronson, Lomax, Kennedy, Henderson, Ennis and all the rest of the respected folks in the field.
    A proper ballad TELLS a story, and doesn't just imply it. There are a bunch of modern ballads, including a lot of country songs (Coward of the County, BRinging Mary Home, Omie Wise etc.), many railroad songs and many sea songs that fit this category (Edmund Fitzgerald and Flying Cloud come to mind immediately.)
    Why not leave the word "ballad" a;one and argue about what's "modern"?