Crow Sister,
Always pleased to learn of someone wanting to sing ballads!
I believe in the power of these story songs and have been singing them for more years than I'd care to mention -- and I'm about to lead a series of 3 ballad workshops in Glasgow (Scotland) in January with Gordeanna McCulloch, because we know that there are people who want to find a way to approach the Muckle Sangs (big ballads).
We've done this frequently, and our advice is always the same -- know and understand the text and the background; find the tune you like and learn it in a very basic format (without words in the first instance); begin to fit the text to the tune, and make alterations if necessary in order to avoid 'clunkiness'; find alternative verses if you're not happy with the flow of the narrative; think of the narrative as a film with scenes, and look for useful linking words to move on to the next part of the plot eg 'but', 'so', 'then', 'and' etc.
These were important songs for people, and I remember an occasion (c.1961) when I was at my English teacher Norman Buchan's house in Glasgow. (Norman was the author of "101 Scottish Songs"; and "The Scottish Folksinger", which he co-edited with Peter Hall.) The guest was the famous Aberdeenshire ballad singer, Jeannie Robertson, and she started off on 'Matty Groves'. Anyway, she got almost to the end of the story - where the husband bursts in and challenges Matty, offering him a sword because he has none. At that point she stopped and looked round the room until she spotted Norman standing at the door - whereupon she said, "Well, ye see, Norman, he wis aye a fair man.". She then picked up the story and finished the song!
Don't know if this helps, but it pleases me to remember it.

Anne Neilson.