Yes, the ballad is as long as it needs to be, and yes, it is a bit nerdy to actually count the verses.

BUT

There's a big difference between a ballad like the Bonny Hind or Two Sisters (a couple of scenes) and one like Musgrave or Bateman (he went there, then they went there, then this happened, then that happened...). Sheath and Knife, Willie of Winsbury, Two Sisters are 'long enough' to give us two scenes; Little Musgrave is 'long enough' to tell a complex and vivid story. I'm just interested to know who else is doing the long, narrative ballads.

The other motivation for asking this Q is that I'm on the lookout for 'new' material in this area. (Brian Peters does a good job on False Foudrage and Sir Aldingar on his Songs of Trial and Triumph album - wondering about nicking those...) I suspect a lot of singaround repertoires are regional or even local - one group's taken-for-granted, obvious, familiar standard might be another's weird novelty. I haven't heard The Outlandish Knight in years - despite it being so familiar! - and I don't think I've ever heard Child Owlet.

So let's rephrase the question: which of the old ballads that tell a story - not just paint a scene or two - do you do? My list would go something like
Banks of Green Willow, Fair Annie, Little Musgrave, Lord Allenwater, Lord Bateman, Mary Hamilton, the Outlandish Knight, the Wife of Usher's Well, Young Hunting