MGMT – Kids lyrics

I think these lyrics are deeper than most of what you folks are saying. These are about how we start out innocent and fearless when we're young. As we get older, we learn about and reap consequences. We make decisions easily, not knowing of the consequences, not realizing how much the long-term consequences and effects will eventually hurt us in life. As we suffer the effects of our choices, we should learn to control ourselves -- our anger, our hurt -- to learn from our poor choices and mistakes, and to "take only what we need from it." Everything seems "warm" and innocent (baby) in the beginning, but that warm water gets colder as we get older. All we can do is learn as we get older because everything is "haunted" and grows more haunted. A baby born is destined to be haunted in this life.

I can't claim to know the artist's intent when writing this song, but it (and its official music video) hit me hard on a personal level. In the beginning when it says making mama so proud, it reminds me of how growing up my parents thought I was so amazing and special and encouraged me to be the best version of myself and taught me to stand up for what I believe in. But then the song says "but your voice was too loud," and that reminds me of where I am now: my beliefs don't match up with theirs, and now I'm wrong for standing up for myself. They want me to be quiet and just go with the status quo. In the video, a woman is seen walking around town carrying a baby, but she seems completely absorbed in her phone. The baby is looking around and sees that all the other people are scary monsters, and he's crying, but instead of comforting him, his mom puts him down and lets him crawl and walk around alone with the monsters. He eventually wanders into the woods where the band is playing, and they give him some stuff, like a little hat to wear, and he stops crying while he watches them play. Then his mom comes and picks him back up, takes the hat off, and puts him in his carseat (which looks like it has prison bars on each side of it) and drives away, leaving the baby to look out the window at more scary monsters. Eventually she turns on a TV in the backseat with some stupid cartoon stuff that's also kind of horrifying to look at. Basically, this song seems to be about someone who is left on their own in the world, vulnerable and afraid, ignored and isolated by the very person who should be protecting them. I can't watch the video without crying.

I’m scrolling through the various interpretations of this songs meaning and see that mine is the most abstract by far lol.
From the almost the first time hearing the song it felt, to me like the song was being sung from the perspective of a creator, or some one observing humankind, the narrative speaking of mankind (kids) with all of our ideas and grand opinions “voice was too loud” and our inability to take care of the planet, “picking insects off plants, no time to think of consequences” and then “control yourself, take only what you need from it- a family of trees falling, to be haunted” and “the water is warm- but it’s sending me shivers” here I’m hearing our inability to maintain the natural balance of our planet, and inability our to use the planets resources sparingly so now as a result it’s causing global warming etc.
MGMT has always written songs in a very poetic, obscure way and I think the song Kids is a perfect example of that. Nothing in the song, including it’s title is meant to be taken literally, or at face value. But if you step back and listen from a different perspective you can really hear the depths and meaning of their song writing.
I would love to know of what everyone else thinks of my interpretation, or whether anyone out there knows the true meaning of the lyrics. Such a great song and an insanely talented duo!

I think that the artist is criticizing his parents for the lack of attention he got and eventually them ignoring him completely. it hurt but the memories fade and he ends up making similar mistakes with his child(ren). this is basically bringing about the whole idea that we are our parents and everything we never liked about them.

I guess this song is about growing up, and the pain the comes with it.
The pain that comes with taking chances, making choices ("Decision to decisions are made / And not bought"), dealing with the other ppl's expectations of who you're supposed to be ("Making Momma so proud" "We like to watch you laughing"), feeling lonely ("a baby is born crying out for attention") even when you think you're in the warmest and most-friendly places, but you're not ("the water is warm, but it's sending me shivers"), speaking up your mind, even when nobody wants to hear it ("your voice is too loud"). Those conflicts are necessary for one's growth.
Growing up is not easy indeed ("I thought this wouldn’t hurt a lot. I guess not"), and it does make you miss the times when you were a kid, picking "insects out of plants", with "no time to think of consequences", which now seems like such a long time ago ("the memories fade"). But just when you think all of this is just too much to bare, remember to keep your act together, control yourself, take only of you need of so much responsability and woe and learn from it. And, last but not least, don't forget to unwind a bit, go back to picking "insects out of plants" once in a while, revisit your primal state of mind, pay a tribute to your own nature, because, maybe just maybe, there are still "a family of trees" waiting for you to hunt them.