Tom Dooley is a good one. Also "Long Black Veil" qualifies as a traditional ballad for sure. Joan Baez' recording from mid 60s used to make shivers go up and down my spine.
Marco- what I meant was that the total "performance" strikes an emotional chord w/in me. It can be the words, the melody, the playing, the singer's interpretation, or as in Jackson Browne's Before the Deluge, its all of the above, plus the ability of the lyric to evoke a period of my life that was transforming. Sure its not a traditional ballad, maybe more like an anthem of the times, but its one song that I cannot sing along w w/o getting very emotional.
Marco- what I meant was that the total "performance" strikes an emotional chord w/in me. It can be the words, the melody, the playing, the singer's interpretation, or as in Jackson Browne's Before the Deluge, its all of the above, plus the ability of the lyric to evoke a period of my life that was transforming. Sure its not a traditional ballad, maybe more like an anthem of the times, but its one song that I cannot sing along w w/o getting very emotional.