Dick,
Thanks for the response.

I guess it all depends on what you mean by "tell" and "a" and "story".

I sing several versions of "The cruel mother." That's as traditional as you can get.

They all purport to tell a story, but according to my belief system the story cannot possibly be true.

So when I sing the song I sing it as vague and evocative.
It's a song about infanticide and its consequences, not about a specific instance of infanticide.

I sing Pancho and Lefty as a song about betrayal and its consequences, not about a specific instance of betrayal.

Am I even addressing your point?

Russ (Permanent GUEST)