What does “to be in pieces” means?

Question

Referring to famous Morrissey's "Children in pieces" b-side.

Answer 1

"To be in pieces" means to be shattered or broken. On an emotional level, you can say "I'm in pieces after she dumped me"

Quite similar to it's literal sense, imagine a glass bowl in pieces i.e. it's been smashed on the floor.

The lyrics from Morrissey's song go

Children in pieces in Irish industrial schools

which is a reference to the large scale abuse that took place in those schools and thus their childhoods have been damaged.