Okay, so I was planning to jokingly title my story A Scottish Ballad, among other options, but it definitely isn't a traditional ballad in the sense that it has stanzas and... stuff. So could I still call a regular story a ballad, or would it just confuse people?
I think you could get away with it. But ideally the story might at least refer to a ballad. Maybe there could be stanzas of a non-existent ballad as chapter headings or something? Just spitballin'. Actually I don't see any reason you can't just call it a ballad. Titles can be metaphorical.
If it's evocative of a ballad... a lyrical re-telling of a story that people might want to tell over and over again... the word "ballad" in the title would not be out of place, I think.
I'm inclined to agree with you, so far. On the 'better title' part, anyway. As a Queen-fan I associate Rhapsody mostly with Bohemians. ;o)
Being a classical pianist and knowing classical music, I wouldn't call it is Ballad. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballad