balladeer

A balladeer is a singer or poet who performs ballads—narrative or sentimental songs that tell a story. The label can apply to traditional folk singers who preserve and reinterpret ballad material, as well as to modern artists who write lyric-driven songs in the ballad form. Etymology: balladeer combines ballad with the agent noun suffix -eer; the word has been in English since at least the 18th or 19th century. Ballads themselves originated in medieval Europe and were circulated as songs or poems, often by itinerant performers.

Historically, balladeers in folk and romantic traditions served as storytellers and chroniclers of local events, love, tragedy, and myth. In the 20th century the term broadened to describe contemporary singer-songwriters known for melodic, lyric-heavy ballads rather than energetic showmanship. In modern usage, balladeer is sometimes used as a literary or historical label and is less common as a self-designation; many artists prefer "singer-songwriter" or "folk artist."

Examples frequently described as balladeers include Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Gordon Lightfoot, Judy Collins, and others recognized for narrative, emotionally expressive songs. The term is now somewhat literary or historical and is less common as a self-identification, with many artists described primarily as singers, songwriters, or folk artists.