Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief Lyrics

Lyric discussion by WeirdFishz 

Cover art for Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief lyrics by Radiohead

From Wikipedia:

"Tinker Tailor" is a counting game, nursery rhyme and fortune telling song traditionally played in England, that can be used to count cherry stones, buttons, daisy petals and other items. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 802. It is commonly used by children in both Britain and America for "counting out," e.g. for choosing who shall be "It" in a game of tag. The most common modern version is:

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor, Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief.[1]


So...who is in danger of being "it", and who are they/we being chased by? I know that climate change is a theme in the album, perhaps it is about humanity in general being a threat to itself.

My Interpretation