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It's only by dying in these horrible conditions that they will get their childhood back - in a sense, they'll regain that innocence upon death. Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,Īnd wash in a river, and shine in the sun. Death is really their only way out (as we notice in Tom's dream:Īnd by came an angel who had a bright key,Īnd he opened the coffins and set them all free

In this poem however, he's contrasting this idea of childlike innocence, which is what we expect, with the idea of the needs of adults (clean chimneys) stripping that away for their own ends. They're not supposed to know the dark underbellies of the world. Children are supposed to be carefree and, well, innocent. That said, I think this poem fits in Songs of Innocence more than Songs of Experience because it's all about that loss of innocence. That said, chimney sweeps were mainly children, because, well, they were small enough to fit in the chimneys and not get stuck. In some ways, you're right - it'd kinda fit in both.