And all the kids are looking down
And all the kids hear marching sounds
They all see the armies on the ground
And all the kids are looking down
Gun fire after another
Hear the fire going higher
There is a castle in the air
And all the kids are trapped in there
There is a king, they don't know where
There is a castle in the air
Gunfire after another
Bright fire shooting higher
And the boys cried out but they can't get through to you, through to you
And the king cried out but he can't be true to you, true to you
If all the kids could reach to see
They wonder who the king would be
A little boy who looks like me
If all the kids could reach to see
And all the kids hear marching sounds
They all see the armies on the ground
And all the kids are looking down
Hear the fire going higher
And all the kids are trapped in there
There is a king, they don't know where
There is a castle in the air
Bright fire shooting higher
And the king cried out but he can't be true to you, true to you
They wonder who the king would be
A little boy who looks like me
If all the kids could reach to see
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ACEACEACE. I am so lucky to live in a town with a club that plays fucking Deerhoof.
So I agree that the milkman is a creepy dude, but this song especially makes me think that the children try to retain their innocence by escaping to some "dream world" or area up in the clouds. Could be off, but the first stanza makes me think of the chaos of the world below while the children are safe above it. Or....maybe the children aren't safe, instead the armies and marching aren't necessarily bad, but an unavoidable chaotic part of life and the children have missed out on their normal childhood and growing up by being taken advantage of by the milkman. Both long shots but let me know what ya'll think.
I think this is clearly an anti-war song. Kids looking down while the army marches, gunfire and destruction around them, while they are kept away from it all in castles in the air (= dreams/plans that are unlikely to happen). The king (= political elite) doesn't care if kids (= pureness, good nature) cry out; the king also cries out, but shouting lies. If kids were to choose who would lead them, the king wouldn't certainly be their leader; instead, it would be an ordinary person.