Ballard MacDonald (October 15, 1882 – November 17, 1935) was an American lyricist, who was one of the writers of Tin Pan Alley.
Born in Portland, Oregon, he was a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).
MacDonald wrote lyrics for a song called "Play That Barber-Shop Chord" in 1910, which became a hit with revised lyrics when it was sung in The Ziegfeld Follies by vaudeville star Bert Williams. He subsequently worked with composer Harry Carroll on "On the Mississippi" (1912) and "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" (1912, based on the million-selling novel). He also partnered with James F. Hanley, which produced the 1917 hit "(Back Home Again In) Indiana.
In the early '20s, MacDonald turned his attention to Broadway revues, which in 1924 brought him his most notable musical collaborator in George Gershwin. In 1926, MacDonald teamed up with Walter Donaldson to write songs for the Broadway show Sweetheart Time
Thumbs Up was MacDonald's final Broadway show. He died in Forest Hills, New York.