When a story is told in a song and passed down by word of mouth, it is called a ballad. A ballad is a narrative poem or song that tells a story, often of a romantic or sentimental nature, and is passed down orally from one generation to the next. It is usually composed of quatrains (four-line stanzas) with a rhyme scheme of ABAB or ABCB. Ballads are often accompanied by music and are a popular form of folk poetry.