This reminds me of a conversation I had yesterday with another singer. We were discussing the story telling of song, and how frustrating it is to sing with musicians who are playing as if it's dance music. I call it the "American Bandstandardization"... you know, give it a beat you can dance to. As Joe Heaney pointed out, you have to "say a song", if you are singing in the way I think we are discussing here. My friend gives the band a lecture on "recitative". From my experience, people in the US are unused to hearing songs sung freely, unmetered, and solo a capella. To stand up and sing a song that conveys an emotional story is unusual for listeners in my part of the world. But, that's the best way I like to sing. The song changes a little each time in the way it is expressed, with the meaning and emotions being "put over" by, as Susan-Marie stated, the singer bringing out words and meaning from the way the emphasis is placed with ornament, firmata, change in meter, etc.