1. Vagabond: Oed defines vagabond as a person who is inclined “to stray or gad about without proper occupation; leading an unsettled, irregular, or disreputable life; good-for-nothing, rascally, worthless.” (www.oed.com). Although the speaker has good and virtuous intentions, his suggestions to bring alcohol into a church environment are a proposterous and unsettling, but amusing nontheless.
2. Church is cold: The speaker thinks that church is cold, boring, and unwelcoming. He wants to create a more lively atmosphere in the church and presents a solution when talking about the alhouse.
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3. Ale-house is healthy & pleasant & warm: Unlike the church, the speaker associates the alehouse with positive feelings and it is a sort of haven for him. Ironically it is a place where alcohol can create sinful effects. He looks upon alcohol as something that inspires and evokes jovial feelings that he relates to God.
4. Ale: The speaker’s idea is that bringing Ale into church would incorporate a entirely new attitude and atmosphere. He realizes that the Ale-house is not bringing him closer to heaven, but it provides him with a warm and enlightening environment that the church does not provide.
5. Sing and We’d Pray: By singing and praying the speaker of the poem combines the sing song aspect of the merriment at the ale-house with the praying at the church. They would sing along with the choir music of the church just as they sing along with the ramboncious crowd at the alehouse swinging their beer from side to side instead of their bibles.
6. Modest dame lurch: A person who is very proper and obedient to the ways of the church, regardless of the suffering that may result. For example, malnutrition from fasting.
7. Devil: The speaker wishes for God and the devil to leave their quarrel and rejoice with ale, which is typically thought to be a sinful drink. It is an extreme exaggeration of reality, and the rhyme scheme and sing song nature work to make the poem comical.