"Pretty Ballerina" is a song written by pianist Michael Brown that was released as a single by his band The Left Banke in December 1966. It peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 4 on the Canadian RPM chart.

Composition

"Pretty Ballerina" was one of the first pop songs to use the Lydian mode in its melody (more specifically the acoustic scale), predating the Beatles' Indian-inspired "Blue Jay Way" and Donovan's "Peregrine". The recording features an oboe over the instrumental portion of the track, joining the string quartet, before the music pauses, and goes back to the refrain of the song. The original Left Banke version of the song was sung by Steve Martin Caro and it is one of several songs that Brown wrote about singer Renee Fladen, the girlfriend of Left Banke guitarist Tom Finn and the object of Brown's affections. Other songs written about her include the band's biggest hit, "Walk Away Renée", and "She May Call You Up Tonight".

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

The song has been covered by such artists as:

Popular culture

The song has appeared in the films: Apocalypse Now, Off Limits and Things Behind the Sun.