Look at msbuild. It tries to use XML as a syntax for its configuration. But because you absolutely need a programming language for this task, you program a very odd language that is unlike anything else. It combines the clearty and simplicit of XML with the intuitivity of a dsl.

Now think of a lisp that uses YAML as its syntax instead of sexprs. That might be a much better choice than msbuild, but do you really want that? Would that make things better?