A lot of those old ballads are considerably longer than they are interesting. I used to know eighteen verses to "Pretty Polly", but does that mean it was better than the shorter version I do now? No. It only means it was longer. The short version gets the point across just fine, and maybe better for being more direct. I wouldn't be so quick to chalk it up to lazy songwriting given that many of them still tell a very good story but without boring the audience or hogging the session time (as is so often complained about here).

Mostly, thought, I think it's comparing apples to oranges. They serve different purposes: One is historic, the other is dynamic.