Fantasy Song Name Generator

Ballads, shanties and tavern rounds for your world

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Generate titles for in-world fantasy songs: bard ballads like The Ballad of the Ember Queen, tavern rounds like Another Round for the Dragon, elven laments, dwarven work chants like Hammer Down, Hammer Home, sea shanties, war hymns and lullabies.

About fantasy song names

Songs make a fantasy setting feel lived in. A bard needs a set list, a tavern needs something the whole room can bellow, and a culture seems real once it has music of its own. The title does a lot of that work, because it tells the listener what kind of song is coming. The Ballad of the Ember Queen or The Lay of Seven Swords promises a story about a person or an event, since ballads and lays are both narrative forms.

The list is organized by who would sing each song. Tavern songs are jokes and complaints (The Barmaid's Got My Boots, Put It on the Paladin's Tab). Elven laments are slow and concerned with time and loss, and borrow words such as elegy, threnody and nocturne. Dwarven chants follow the rhythm of labor, so they are short, repetitive commands: Hammer Down, Hammer Home, or Heave on Three. Real sea shanties were call-and-response work songs for hauling together, which is why the ones here sound like orders and destinations, as in Haul Away for Saltmere.

The remaining groups cover war hymns and marching songs, lullabies and nursery rhymes, courtly love songs named with early forms such as the pavane, galliard and madrigal, temple hymns and seasonal carols, and comic road songs like Never Trust a Talking Sword.

How to choose fantasy song names

  • Match the form to the singer. A court minstrel performs lays and madrigals, a ship's crew sings shanties, soldiers sing marches, and a village sings harvest rounds. The right form tells players where a song comes from before they hear a word of it.
  • Swap in names from your own world. Haul Away for Saltmere becomes a song about your campaign's port, and Banners Over Blackford can carry the name of a battle your players fought in.
  • Give a bard character a set list of four or five titles: a crowd-pleaser, a sad one, a marching song, a love song, and one that tends to get the band thrown out.
  • Use a title to plant lore. A song called Who Killed the Winter King? or The Fall of the House of Vane hands the party a question to chase without a page of exposition.
  • If you write lyrics, make the title the refrain. Work chants and shanties repeat the title line so that everyone can join in by the second verse, and the same trick works at a game table.

Frequently asked questions

What are good names for a bard's songs in D&D?

Build a small repertoire that covers different moods. Try The Ballad of the Beggar Prince for a story song, Another Round for the Dragon for the tavern crowd, Lament for the Last Silver Tree when the scene turns sad, and March of the Iron Legion to inspire allies before a fight. A comic number such as The Goblin Owes Me Money is useful for getting out of trouble.

What is the difference between a ballad, a lay and a lament?

A ballad is a narrative song in short stanzas, often with a refrain, and is the classic form for folk stories. A lay is a medieval narrative poem that was usually sung, typically about romance or adventure. A lament is a song of grief for a person, a place or a lost age, so it suits elves and the aftermath of battles.

How do I come up with a funny tavern song title?

Start with a complaint and add one specific detail. Who Watered the Ale?, Three Coppers Short of a Pint and Never Arm-Wrestle a Half-Orc all work because they sound like something that happened to the singer last night. Direct address helps too, as in Fill It to the Brim, Bramwell.

Can I use these titles for real music or a game soundtrack?

Yes, they are meant to be used for fantasy albums, tabletop playlists, game soundtracks and fiction. They were written as in-world titles, and nobody has searched each one against existing recordings. Look up your favorite before you release anything under it.

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All 500 fantasy song names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 29 names

  • A Bard Has Got to Eat
  • A Crown for the Goatherd
  • A Cup of Starlight, Spilled
  • A Dragon Yawned
  • A Favor on My Lance
  • A Hall for Every Clan
  • A Hundred Days from Home
  • A Hymn for Those at Sea
  • A Map Drawn by a Liar
  • A Ring of Braided Grass
  • A Rose for the Ranger
  • A Soldier's Pay Is Mud
  • A Thousand Autumns
  • A Toast to the Troll Under the Table

A, continued

  • Aelith's Farewell
  • Air for the Unreturned
  • Ale After Ore
  • Ale for the Aching
  • All My Seasons Without You
  • An Elf Loved a Mortal Once
  • Anchors Up at Amberquay
  • Anointing of the Young Squire
  • Another Round for the Dragon
  • Anthem of the Free Cantons
  • Apple Seed, Acorn, Ash
  • Aria of the Amber Hour
  • Arrows Like Autumn Rain
  • Ashes of the Autumn Throne
  • Ashes to Embers, Embers to Light

B: 25 names

  • Banners Over Blackford
  • Bard in the Rafters
  • Beard of My Father, Axe of My Mother
  • Bellows Breath
  • Beloved, the Snow Is Melting
  • Below the Green Waves, Sleeping
  • Betrothed to the Sea
  • Beware the Bard with Two Lutes
  • Blame It on the Gnomish Gin
  • Blanket of Snow, Pillow of Moss
  • Blessed Be the Bread and Barley
  • Blisters and Ballads

B, continued

  • Blood on the Barley
  • Blow, Ye North Wind, Blow
  • Boots on the Table
  • Boots, Bread and Bowstrings
  • Bottoms Up, Blades Down
  • Bound for Far Brightwater
  • Brannoc's Bargain
  • Breaking Bread Below
  • Bright Helms, Dark Morning
  • Bring Her About, Bessa
  • Bring In the Winter Boar
  • Bring the Timber, Brace the Roof
  • Buttercup Knights

C: 16 names

  • Campfire Round for Tired Companions
  • Canticle of the Nine Candles
  • Carol of the Candle Spirits
  • Carry Me Back on My Shield
  • Cartwheel Waltz
  • Chant of the Open Hand
  • Chorale for the Storm Father
  • Cider Season

C, continued

  • Close Your Eyes, Baby Basilisk
  • Coal Dust Lullaby
  • Come Away to the Apple Isle
  • Come Home with Your Shield
  • Count the Beams
  • Count the Campfires
  • Counting Sheep in the Giant's Field
  • Cradle in the Canopy

D: 10 names

  • Dance for the Day of Ancestors
  • Dance with Me at Midsummer
  • Deep We Delve
  • Dew on the Bowstring
  • Don't Go Down to the Dungeon, Dear
  • Don't Whistle on the Water
  • Down Where the Dark Is Warm
  • Dream of Dragons, Little One
  • Drink to the Dead and the Living
  • Drowned Men Tell Good Tales

E: 5 names

  • Echoes in Kharn Durim
  • Elegy for a Mortal Friend
  • Evensong of the Elder Wood
  • Ever the Rivers Run On
  • Every Port but Mine

F: 14 names

  • Fair Rosalind of the Rushes
  • Fair Winds to the Far Horizon
  • Fair Ysabeau and the Fey Lord
  • Far Shores, Fair Shores
  • Fare Thee Well, Featherbed
  • Farewell to the Lantern Coast
  • Feather, Fur and Scale
  • Fill It to the Brim, Bramwell
  • First Sheaf, Last Sheaf
  • Five Fat Frogs for the Hedge Witch
  • For Every Leaf, a Memory
  • Forge-Mother's Blessing
  • Forward, the Forlorn Hope
  • Froth on My Beard

G: 10 names

  • Galliard of the Garden Gate
  • Gloria of the Golden Scales
  • Glory to the Griffin Guard
  • Gloves of Green Velvet
  • Gold in the Dark
  • Goodbye, Goodbye, Grey Gull Bay
  • Goodnight, Goblin Under the Bed
  • Grandmother Spider Spins the Night
  • Granite and Glory
  • Grey Geese Over the Garrison

H: 28 names

  • Hail the Returning Host
  • Hail, Bright Lady of the Wells
  • Hammer Down, Hammer Home
  • Handfast Morning
  • Haul Away for Saltmere
  • Haul the Ore Cart Home
  • Heave Away, the Hold Is Full
  • Heave Ho for Harrowport
  • Heave on Three
  • Her Footsteps in the Frost
  • Her Hair Was Harvest Gold
  • Here's to the Cook
  • Hey Ho, the Keg Is Low
  • His Laugh Was Like the Thaw

H, continued

  • Hobgoblin, Hobgoblin, Go Away Home
  • Hoist the Black and Silver
  • Hold the Line at Hallowmere
  • Holy, Holy, the Hearthfire
  • Home Is Just Another Inn
  • Home Is Where the Anchor Drops
  • How the North Gate Fell
  • Hush Now, Little Wyvern
  • Hush, the Hearth Sprite's Sleeping
  • Hymn for the Unburied
  • Hymn of the Healing Hands
  • Hymn of the Hearth-Hall
  • Hymn of the Ninth Spear
  • Hymn to the Dawnmother

I: 8 names

  • I Carved Your Name in Rowan
  • I Counted the Centuries
  • I Left My Sword at the Pawnshop
  • I Rolled My Cart to Market
  • I Would Cross the Wastes for You
  • If I Had a Wizard's Gold
  • Incense and Iron
  • Iron in the Blood

K: 3 names

  • Kiss the Cook and Tip the Bard
  • Kiss the Figurehead for Luck
  • Knock Twice for the Good Stuff

L: 18 names

  • Lament for Caer Ellion
  • Lament for the Last Silver Tree
  • Lament of the Dawn Wardens
  • Lament of the Exile Prince
  • Lantern Night Processional
  • Lash the Wheel and Pray
  • Last Call at the Limping Griffin
  • Leaves Fall in Ilvarien
  • Left Foot, Right Foot, Far from Home

L, continued

  • Light of the Morning Shrine
  • Light the Deep Lamps
  • Light the Hill Fires
  • Litany Against the Long Night
  • Little Lamb, the Wolf Is Far
  • Little Squire, Dry Your Eyes
  • Long Pull to Lowtide
  • Love Potion, Badly Brewed
  • Lullaby for a Felled Tree

M: 16 names

  • Madrigal for the Marchioness
  • March of the Deep Wardens
  • March of the Iron Legion
  • Marching Song of the Mud Company
  • Matins at the Mountain Abbey
  • Mead in the Morning
  • Meet Me by the Moonlit Weir
  • Merfolk in the Rigging

M, continued

  • Mist upon the Mirror Lake
  • Mother Moon and Her Seven Daughters
  • My Donkey Is a Polymorphed Prince
  • My Grandsire's Pick
  • My Horse Knows the Way Home
  • My Lady of the Lantern Tower
  • My Love Is a Lighthouse Keeper
  • My Purse Is Light but My Cup Is Full

N: 9 names

  • Never Arm-Wrestle a Half-Orc
  • Never Trust a Talking Sword
  • Nine Fathoms and Falling
  • Nine Mugs Down
  • Nine Nights on the Glass Mountain
  • No Retreat from Raven Ridge
  • No Road Back to Ilvarien
  • Nocturne for a Dying Star
  • Nurse's Song of the North Wind

O: 9 names

  • O Keeper of the Crossroads
  • O Warden of the Mountain Pass
  • Oath of the Iron Kin
  • Oh, the Harbormaster's Ledger
  • Oh, the Pickled Pixie!
  • Old Bones Under Harrow Hill
  • Old Mother Malt
  • Old Nag, New Road
  • One More Before the Watch Comes

P: 12 names

  • Pass the Jug Around
  • Pat the Dough, Baker Mage
  • Pavane for a Secret Sweetheart
  • Pay Me in Pearls
  • Petals on the Dark River
  • Pick and Shovel, Pick and Pay
  • Pixie, Pixie, Light My Way
  • Ploughshares into Pikes
  • Pour Me a Tall One, Tilda
  • Praise the Harvest Lord
  • Pull for the Pearl Isles
  • Put It on the Paladin's Tab

Q: 2 names

  • Queen of the Coral Throne
  • Quench and Temper

R: 17 names

  • Rain on the Ranger's Hood
  • Rain Prayer of the River Clans
  • Raise the Dragon Standard
  • Reaping Day Reel
  • Requiem for the Rearguard
  • Requiem in Green and Gold
  • Ribbon on the Hawthorn
  • Ring Around the Wishing Well

R, continued

  • Ring, Hammer, Ring
  • Roll the Boulder, Raise the Hall
  • Roll the Cask, Rosalind
  • Roll the Kraken Down
  • Round and Round the Rowan Tree
  • Round the Cape of Teeth We Go
  • Row, You Landless Lot
  • Rum for the Ghost in the Hold
  • Rune by Rune

S: 49 names

  • Salt in My Beard, Gulls in My Wake
  • Sea Hag's Hornpipe
  • Seed-Time Song
  • Serenade Beneath the Wrong Window
  • Seven Hundred Against the Horde
  • Seven Leagues on Sore Feet
  • Seven Pints to Sunrise
  • Seven Shafts Down
  • Sharpen the Scythes
  • She Danced with the Duke's Shadow
  • Shields of the Sunrise
  • Shoulder to the Stone

S, continued

  • Silver Rain over Sylmar
  • Sing for Your Supper, Sorcerer
  • Sing It Again, You Cowards
  • Sing Me Back to the Greenwood
  • Sing, All Ye Saints of Stone
  • Six Bells and All Is Wrong
  • Skip to the Fairy Ring
  • Slag and Cinders
  • Sleep While the Watchfire Burns
  • Sleep, My Small Adventurer
  • Snow on the Summer Court
  • Snug as a Dormouse in a Helm

S, continued

  • So Brief, the Lives of Men
  • Solstice Bells
  • Song of the Shieldwall
  • Song of the Siege Engineers
  • Song of the Sundered Crown
  • Song of the Thousand Steps
  • Sonnet for a Swordswoman
  • Sons and Daughters of the Spear
  • South to the Spice Winds
  • Sparks Fly Upward
  • Spears to the Sky
  • Spring Came Late to My Heart

S, continued

  • Spyglass and Salt Pork
  • Stand, Brave Hearts of Hartsfell
  • Starlight on Still Water
  • Steel for the Tyrant
  • Stone Remembers
  • Storm Petrel, Storm Petrel
  • Stout Hearts, Stouter Doors
  • Strike While the Iron Sings
  • Stumble Home by Starlight
  • Swear It by the Evening Star
  • Sweet Red of Summerwine
  • Swing, Kinsfolk, Swing
  • Swords of the Summer Crown

T: 183 names

  • Tamsin and the Wyrm of Wend
  • Tankards Up, Troubles Down
  • Ten Leagues Before Supper
  • Ten Little Kobolds
  • Ten Thousand Hammers
  • Thanks for the Thaw
  • That Chest Has Teeth
  • The Anvil Answers
  • The Apprentice Turned Himself to Jam
  • The Ballad of Bad Decisions
  • The Ballad of Blackthorn Bridge
  • The Ballad of Gallows Lea
  • The Ballad of Hollow Hill
  • The Ballad of Poor Sir Pell

T, continued

  • The Ballad of Red Ronan
  • The Ballad of the Beggar Prince
  • The Ballad of the Bell Without a Tongue
  • The Ballad of the Borrowed Sword
  • The Ballad of the Ember Queen
  • The Ballad of the Faithless Squire
  • The Ballad of the Lantern Bearer
  • The Ballad of the Patient Ghost
  • The Ballad of the Salt Road
  • The Ballad of Tom o' the Tarn
  • The Barmaid's Got My Boots
  • The Beekeeper's Benediction
  • The Blacksmith's Blush
  • The Bosun's Got a Tentacle

T, continued

  • The Brewer's Blessing
  • The Bridge Troll's Toll Song
  • The Captain's Wooden Everything
  • The Caravan Guard's Complaint
  • The Cat Who Sat on the Wizard's Hat
  • The Cavalry Canter
  • The Cave-In Dirge
  • The Cellar Rat Reel
  • The Chorus Nobody Remembers
  • The Conscript's Goodbye
  • The Counting-Out Rhyme of Nine Crows
  • The Courtship of the Cloud Giant
  • The Cow Jumped Over Both Moons
  • The Crow That Spoke to Kings

T, continued

  • The Cursed Boots Dance
  • The Day the Tavern Ran Dry
  • The Deck-Swabber's Complaint
  • The Deepest Drum
  • The Deserter's Verse
  • The Dragon Turtle's Toll
  • The Drums of Dun Varrow
  • The Drunken Druid's Reel
  • The Dwarf Who Couldn't Hold His Mead
  • The Eve of Battle Prayer
  • The Fading of the Light
  • The Fall of the House of Vane
  • The Feast of First Frost
  • The Ferry to the Drowned City

T, continued

  • The Fiddler Fell in the Fire
  • The Fool Who Crowned Himself
  • The Forge-Fire Chant
  • The Gem-Cutter's Waltz
  • The General Has No Horse
  • The Giant's Three Riddles
  • The Goblin Owes Me Money
  • The Goose That Bit the Knight
  • The Gravedigger's Blessing
  • The Griffin's Feather Bed
  • The Harp with One String
  • The Hedge Knight's Reward
  • The Heron's Vigil
  • The Hiccup Round

T, continued

  • The Honest Dice Song
  • The Hour Between Stars
  • The Hundred-Year Hunt
  • The Innkeeper's Out of Stout
  • The Jolly Ogre Jig
  • The Keg and the Keystone
  • The Knight of the Broken Oath
  • The Knight Who Could Not Speak His Heart
  • The Lantern Fish Lullaby
  • The Lark Has Left the Hollow
  • The Last Dance in the Glade
  • The Last Ride of Ser Alder
  • The Lay of Ilveth and the Stag
  • The Lay of Seven Swords

T, continued

  • The Lay of the Last Griffin Rider
  • The Lay of the Lost Legion
  • The Lay of the Moonless Year
  • The Lay of the Silver Huntress
  • The Lay of the Twin Moons
  • The Leviathan's Lullaby
  • The Lonely Necromancer
  • The Long Dark Road to Daylight
  • The Long March South
  • The Long Shift
  • The Long Twilight
  • The Long Way Round to Anywhere
  • The Loom of Long Years
  • The Maid Who Tricked the Troll

T, continued

  • The Mason's Measure
  • The Maypole Round
  • The Mermaid Took My Bosun
  • The Merry Mercenary
  • The Midwinter Carol of the Evergreen
  • The Minstrel and the Manticore
  • The Minstrel's Red Rose
  • The Moon Forgets No One
  • The Moon Is a Silver Shield
  • The Moth and the Candle Flame
  • The Names of the Lost
  • The Night We Drank the Baron's Wine
  • The Oath at Ashen Ford
  • The Oath of the Temple Guard

T, continued

  • The Oathsworn Anthem
  • The Owlbear Hug
  • The Owlbear's Cradle Song
  • The Peddler's Pack Song
  • The Pikeman's Patter
  • The Pilgrim's Road Psalm
  • The Pressgang Reel
  • The Prince in the Tower of Thorns
  • The Red Cloaks Are Coming
  • The Rhyme of the Ragged Mage
  • The Ride to Ravensmoot
  • The Round Before the Road
  • The Saga of Dagna Goldbraid
  • The Saltwife's Warning

T, continued

  • The Sandman Rides a Moth
  • The Scarecrow King
  • The Seven Deeds of Little Wat
  • The Shepherdess and the Shadow Prince
  • The Siege of Starfall Keep
  • The Silver Vein Reel
  • The Siren's Reef Shanty
  • The Sleep of Stones and Stars
  • The Sleepy Sentry
  • The Smelter's Round
  • The Smuggler's Moon
  • The Sorrows of Queen Maelis
  • The Spilled Stout Stomp
  • The Spring Bride's Procession

T, continued

  • The Standard Shall Not Fall
  • The Star That Fell in the Milk Pail
  • The Table-Thumper
  • The Tale of the Overconfident Rogue
  • The Tale of the Tin Knight
  • The Tale of Two Thrones
  • The Tally of Old Debts
  • The Tears of Thaliel
  • The Three Sisters of Thistle Tor
  • The Tinker's Daughter and the Djinn
  • The Tooth Gnome's Jingle
  • The Troubadour's Promise
  • The Tunnel King's Toast
  • The Unicorn Foal's First Snow

T, continued

  • The Unstrung Bow
  • The Wandering Wizard's Whistle
  • The Wedding of Sun and Storm
  • The Weeping of the Willows
  • The Widower's Waltz
  • The Widowmaker's Waltz
  • The Witch of Withy Water
  • The Wizard Who Forgot His Name
  • The Wizard's Round (He's Buying)
  • The Wolf at the Wedding Feast
  • The Wolf Banner Rises
  • The Wreck of the Wandering Star
  • There's a Hole in My Bag of Holding
  • Thief of My Heart (and My Coin Purse)

T, continued

  • Three Coppers Short of a Pint
  • Three Days Becalmed
  • Three Wishes, All Wasted
  • Threnody for the Fallen Grove
  • Thunder on the King's Road
  • Tide Mother, Take Me Gently
  • Tiny Boots by the Door
  • Tipsy Tom and the Tax Man
  • Tomorrow We Are Legends
  • Trumpets at the Thorn Gate
  • Turn Again, Sweet Tamsin
  • Twelve Letters from the Front
  • Twilight Canticle
  • Two Hearts, One Hearth
  • Two Left Feet and a Flagon

U: 2 names

  • Under the Lovers' Oak
  • Under the Mountain's Heart

V: 4 names

  • Vespers for the Moon
  • Vespers of the Veiled Moon
  • Victory at the Vale of Ash
  • Victory Bells of Valmoor

W: 30 names

  • Wait for Me, Wilhelmina
  • Walking Song of the West Road
  • War Drums of the Tusk Clans
  • Warm Hearth, Cold Ale
  • Wassail for the Orchard Spirits
  • Way, Hey, the Tide's Away
  • We Gather at the Standing Stones
  • We Ride at Dawn for Aldermark
  • We Who Do Not Wither
  • Wee Willow Wisp
  • Whalers of the Winter Sea
  • What the Old Oaks Remember
  • When Even Mountains Pass
  • When I Was a Cabin Boy
  • When Orin Went Below

W, continued

  • When the Birches Were Young
  • When the Fireflies Come Courting
  • When the Last Lamp Gutters
  • Where the Moonpetals Grew
  • Whistle Past the Barrow
  • White Blossom, Black Bough
  • Who Holds the Gate? We Hold the Gate
  • Who Killed the Winter King?
  • Who Packed the Rations?
  • Who Watered the Ale?
  • Who Will Rock the Troll to Sleep?
  • Whose Boots Are These?
  • Wind in the Wyvern Sail
  • Windlass and Whale Oil
  • Winter Came to the Sunlit Halls

Y: 1 name

  • Your Eyes Put Out the Stars