What is it about the story song that kills guys like me?

Sometime around my 21st birthday someone slipped me a copy of that self titled Andy Irvine / Paul Brady record with Arthur McBride on it which I've now worn through many a copy and back button on a CD getting wrapped up in the seven minute struggle, pumping my fist when "the trusy sheleighly comes over their heads" . When I lived in Taos, NM, local virtuoso Mason Brown would do a version at our local pub and coax all my remaining dollars into the tip jar everytime.. My friend Adam Rozckiewitz sent me a link yesterday to a video of Paul doing the song live from the 70's and i was struck again.
This song could bring me from comatose to William Wallace in heat in two verses, (I know, wrong island):

Paul Brady


For some reason this one evokes the same counter-culteral call to arms to me.
someday I'll nail a song like one of these I hope:

Richard Thompson "1952 Vincent Black Lightning"
(i actually saw one of these bikes in Albuquerque, a collector had one, i used to have an old BMW myself and was floored by the vincent.. which are very rare due to the fact that they were built with more go than stop power)


FOLK!