There was a crooked man, who
walked a crooked mile. He
found a crooked sixpence
upon a crooked stile. He
bought a crooked cat, which
caught a crooked mouse, And they
all lived together in a
crooked little house.
walked a crooked mile. He
found a crooked sixpence
upon a crooked stile. He
bought a crooked cat, which
caught a crooked mouse, And they
all lived together in a
crooked little house.
Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, c 1580 – 1661. Soldier, Diplomat.
The “crooked man” is said to portray Leslie, as a Scottish military and political figure, commander of the Scottish Covenanter forces, in his role during negotiations with King Charles I, when the king tried to impose a more English-style church structure and prayer book on Scotland. Leslie agitated for recognition of the Scottish church’s independence from royal religious control. In this interpretation, a “crooked mile” was a winding political path, a “crooked sixpence” was an agreement or concession, and “a crooked cat, mouse and house” were an uneasy political settlement.
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https://1000-good-songs.org/p/1683