"Sixteen Military Wives" - The Decemberists

1. This song is about military wives who, some of which, lost their husbands to death and are very sad about it. It could also be about celebrities who live complicated lives, and maybe the "cannibal kings" line is representative of the government and how they don't care that much.
2. I think the songwriter(s) of this song wanted to tell the audience that we have lost our focus in terms of every day life. We are too fixed on celebrities and unimportant things that we lose touch of what truly matters.