I don't have a theory either, but one thing I suspect is that many repetends work because with each verse/stanza the claim/emotion of the repetend becomes more fleshed out, its truth morphing from a casual observation into something of vital, earned importance. The first time you hear the (soon to be) repetend, it sounds plausible and interesting enough, but then you hear it again in the context of the words/lyrics that intervened and now you have a better sense of why you were told it in the first place, and so it deepens. You don't say, "Why are you telling me that again?" but "Oh, now I see why you told me that in the first place."
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