The man of double deed

Question

There is this beautiful poem I heard on "The Fall" (british tv show).

There was a man of double deed,
Who sowed his garden full of seed;
When the seed began to grow,
'Twas like a garden full of snow;
When the snow began to melt,
'Twas like a ship without a belt;
When the ship began to sail,
'Twas like a bird without a tail;
When the bird began to fly,
'Twas like an eagle in the sky;
When the sky began to roar,
'Twas like a lion at my door;
When my door began to crack,
'Twas like a stick across my back;
When my back began to smart,
'Twas like a penknife in my heart;
And when my heart began to bleed,
'Twas death, and death, and death indeed.

What does "man of double deed" mean? I guess it has some negative connotation, like a person leading double life, being double-faced, hypocritical, etc. But maybe I'm wrong.

The assumption is based on the fact that the poem is cited by the double-faced antagonist of the show.

Answer 1

According to a brief discussion on another question (What means double deed?) "double deed" is a contraction of "double indeed".

When we wish to imply a strong assertion we may use the word indeed, it's can have a slightly archaic feel

Is he a reliable witness?

Indeed not!

We might strongly assert an intention

Indeed I will be (performing some action)

or determination not to do something

Indeed I not do that

From that a rather informal, perhaps child-like, stronger assertion

Indeed and indeed and double indeed I will not (perform action)

And this contracts to

Deed and deed and double deed ...

An example of this formulation being given in

In Adventures of Tom Sawyer, there is a dialogue going on between Tom and Becky:

Yes I do, indeed I do. Please let me.

You'll tell.

No I won't—deed and deed and double deed won't.

You won't tell anybody at all.

Also ships do have belts, it's a term for reinforced armour of warships.