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

Lyric discussion by soup4brain 

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

To me this is a haunting, desperate plea for connection to someone who has their walls up / is avoidant / fears connection.

My Interpretation
Negative
Subjective
Sadness
Connection
Desperation
Avoidance
Fear
Isolation

From Genius:

A possible reference to how wolves went from man’s enemy to it’s ally, and eventually evolved into dogs. Humans lit fires to drive off wolves for generations. Then, a few wolves decided to befriend the humans. A wolf would theoretically crawl out from the forest and approach the tribe on its belly to show submission. All the humans had to do was accept the wolf as a friend (say yes), and give it food in exchange for protection.