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Meaning
Back in 16th century England, Catholic priests were an unpopular lot. Many were thought to be corrupt. And many more were thought to have broken their priestly vows of celibacy. For part of the century, there was even a reward for any protestant who could find and execute one. In this rhyme, a priest has been found in a rather compromising situation. 'Goose' was slang back then for a prostitute. So, the priest's been caught in her bedroom with his pants down. One way to test if a man was a Catholic priest was to have him recite the new, English prayers rather than the old Latin ones. But in this case, the priest refuses, or can't, and is killed by being thrown down the brothel's flight of stairs. One of many nursery rhymes about this troubled time.
