No problem with 40 verse traditional ballads, so long as they are well done, brought to life by the singer, etc, either as part of a concert in one of the dedicated ballad clubs (yes, they still exist): but not in a 40-person song session with everyone patiently waiting their turn.
As for writing new songs, depending on the subject, story, chorus or not: yes, somewhere between 4 -7 verses seems good. There is a temptation with some writers of comic songs to over-egg it: 14 verses, each independently funny, but just "too much of a good thing" all at once, leading to some sort of verbal indigestion: keep it down, to the point, and save your surplus-to-requirement funny lines for another song.