I agree about letting the words tell the story, but see nothing wrong with an instrumental break that echos and builds the feeling of the song, and I really enjoy it when the song is followed by a related tune.

The tune is the important thing too. And the way things work together. E.g. a story followed by a song, song followed by a tune.

Same with dancing. Some bands - particularly some American bands the play 'English' (which in England we call 'Playford') get so complicated with there harmonies, counter melodies and volume changes that it is hard to follow the beat. But some English groups - Assembly Band, Falconers, etc manage to do enough variation to keep things interesting without obtruding or losing the dancers (enough to be noticed when standing out at the top of the set, or your attention isn't needed for a difficult figure).