Ballads as Short Stories

I attended an on-line workshop last Saturday during which a writer used the Bob Dylan Ballad “Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts” to illustrate some of the tricks of the short story trade. Characters with backstories hinted at, more than one story going on at the same time but coming together at the end, motifs, foreshadowing, etc. Perhaps this provides another way to outline a story–try to write it as a ballad.