The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) Sadness Quotes Page 2

It's not just the parents that cause sadness; apparently just about everybody is guilty. "God and his priest and king" are also responsible for making a paradise for themselves out of the child's misery. Ironically, the entire social order (the church, the state, and the family) is only concerned with making adults happy, not children. At least, according to this poem.