Welcome to Chillers, the ongoing series where we take a look at songs that give me goosebumps. Bi-weekly posting will be done on WordPress going forward with a cross post to Bluesky.

The song that launched the entire Chillers concept, “Where Do the Children Play” by Cat Stevens, has always been in the back of my mind.

A consistent double meaning runs through the lyrics. On one hand, the singer claims to support the advancement of technology — machines, industry, progress at all costs. But on the other hand, he grounds the entire idea with a deceptively simple question: Where do the children play?

It’s tongue-in-cheek. It’s dark. It highlights how human advancement can lose sight of the very reason for advancement in the first place: the next generation who will inherit the world we create.

By the end of the song, Stevens is at a fever pitch, demanding to know what will happen to our children amidst the rapid march of modern life. It’s bitter, subdued, and dripping with irony — yet it’s also deeply human.

This song is layered with such depth that it continues to resonate today, reminding us that progress without purpose risks erasing what matters most.