As another example of a contemporary song that has the gift, consider this from "Broke Down" by Slaid Cleaves and Rod Picott:

"Sherry had a pawnshop band of gold
A sink full of dishes and a love grown cold
Along came a boy, pretty as the devil
She took his hand, the whole thing unravelled."

To me, that's no "well meaning effusion". It has the same clarity as this:

"Oh sall I kill her, nourice,
Or sall I lat her be?"
"Oh kill her, kill her, Lamkin'
For she ne'er was good to me."

Neither of those verses are sentimental, but the sentiment itself is inescapable.