I've noticed varying opinions when it comes to lyrics whether or not to elaborate with a backstory or whether to keep it vague for purposes of listeners identifying in their own vein. I agree sometimes that vague is too vague and needs something to solid it up a bit, but often, I find myself agreeing with obscurity--personal taste. I'm inconsistent--sometimes I like the obscurity and sometimes I think the support of detail is important for the flow of the song. I guess in order to identify the reasoning, I would need to revisit each individual song to explain why. I'm not going to do that, but I hope to ask myself WHY I feel one way or another from now on when I make comments regarding that. I don't know that I would even remember which songs I commented on in that manner.
However, I did wonder...is it a personal taste thing or is there a method to deciding when a backstory is called for and when obscurity serves the song?
I even wonder, do the purposes of stability and instability factor into that?