House of Freaks was a two-man band formed in Richmond, Virginia in the mid … Read Full Bio ↴House of Freaks was a two-man band formed in Richmond, Virginia in the mid 1980s. Bryan Harvey played guitar and sang, and Johnny Hott played percussion. The band managed to achieve a remarkably full sound, mostly because of Hott's inventive drumming and Harvey's confident vocals and knack of playing bass lines on his guitar (cribbed from his many years as a bass player) while simultaneously playing a melody.

The Freaks' sound was a combination of folk and rock, and drew heavily from the blues and primitive Americana music. Their lyrics focused on race, religion, and life in the South, although Harvey was also adept at writing about more personal topics (the lack of success of independent bands, his sex life) using rich metaphors from these former topics, so that many of their songs could be interpreted in two entirely different ways. Bryan's obsession with southern gothic issues influenced his song writing. These sentiments can be heard in such songs as "White Folk's Blood", "Family Tree" and "Big Houses" from the album "Tantilla".

Harvey and Hott moved to Los Angeles for the release of the band's first album, Monkey on a Chain Gang, which received considerable critical acclaim. However, unsatisfied with life in L.A., they moved back east, where they recorded their subsequent albums and faded from the public spotlight. Fans of the band universally consider Cakewalk and Tantilla to be the Freaks's best work.

On March 13, 1988, House of Freaks performed at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, California with The 77s and The Alarm. Audience members included Neil Young.

After the band's breakup, Harvey and Hott joined a Paisley Underground supergroup called Gutterball, headed by Steve Wynn, formerly of Dream Syndicate and also featuring Stephen McCarthy of The Long Ryders and Bob Rupe of The Silos. The group released two albums, Gutterball (1993) and Weasel (1995). Harvey co-wrote many songs on each.

Hott later joined the band Cracker. Harvey has guested on a number of other artists' albums, including September 67's Lucky Shoe, two albums by Shannon Worrell (formerly of September 67), and Magnet's Shark Bait. Both Harvey and Hott assisted Mark Linkous on the debut Sparklehorse record. Bryan Harvey played in a funk band, NRG Krysys, in Richmond, Virginia with Coby Batty of The Fugs. Johnny Hott has a jazz combo with Stephen McCarthy.

On January 1st, 2006, Bryan Harvey, his wife Kathryn, and their daughters Stella and Ruby were found murdered in the basement of their Richmond home.

The Righteous Will Fall
House of Freaks Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I wrote the writing on the wall
I wrote the book of the seven seas
I forged the chains that shackled you
I made the meek get down on their knees

Oh I stood up high on this lonely mountaintop
Speaking tongues like I was only talking shop
My words of gold were carved in stone

I grabbed the serpent by his neck
I made the sky spit fire and rain
Part the waters with mine own hands
I owned your souls and I owned brains

Oh I unafraid in the valley of my death
Took my ribs and tore them from my chest
My words of gold were carved in stone

But in the dead of night
When everything is quiet
There's a blast of lightning
And the righteous will fall
In the fading light
Of my deluded mind
There's a light in the darkness
And the righteous will fall
Everybody wants the righteous to fall

I was there at the dawn of time
I drowned the pharaohs in the sea
I seized the mighty ax of power
'Til nothing on earth could hinder me

Oh I, all alone with this cross upon my back
The perfect light of illusion turned to black
My words of gold in crumbled stone

But in the dead of night
When everything is quiet
There's a blast of lightning
And the righteous will fall
In the fading light
Of my deluded mind
There's a fight in the darkness
And the righteous will fall

You were waiting for the righteous to fall
Everybody wants the righteous to fall

Overall Meaning

The song "The Righteous Will Fall" by House of Freaks speaks to the idea of power and control, specifically the lust for it and the self-aggrandizing behavior that leads to a fall from grace. The singer of the song takes on the persona of someone who has done it all - written on walls, authored books, forged chains, made people kneel - and brags about their accomplishments, claiming to be unafraid of death and asserting their ownership over the souls and brains of others. However, the chorus of the song suggests that their fall is inevitable: "in the dead of night when everything is quiet, there's a blast of lightning and the righteous will fall." The last line is repeated multiple times, indicating that this is a universal truth - that those who seek to control others and inflate their own ego will eventually crumble.

The final verse is perhaps the most striking, as it reveals that the singer's own sense of control and power is illusory. They claim to have been present at the dawn of time and to have drowned pharaohs in the sea, but acknowledge that this power has diminished over time. They carry a cross on their back now, and the "perfect light of delusion turned to black" - in other words, the illusions of grandeur that fueled their rise have been revealed to be false. The final line, "you were waiting for the righteous to fall, everybody wants the righteous to fall," is a harsh indictment of humanity as a whole, suggesting that we are all eager to see those in power brought down.

Line by Line Meaning

I wrote the writing on the wall
I prophesized the future events and made them visible for everyone to see

I wrote the book of the seven seas
I am the author of all knowledge about the seas and its mysteries

I forged the chains that shackled you
I am the one responsible for restricting your freedom and holding you captive

I made the meek get down on their knees
I have the power to humiliate and make the weak bow before me

Oh I stood up high on this lonely mountaintop Speaking tongues like I was only talking shop My words of gold were carved in stone
I spoke with authority and confidence from a position of power, as if my words were laws that could not be broken

I grabbed the serpent by his neck
I defeated and tamed the most dangerous and venomous creature on earth

I made the sky spit fire and rain
I have the power to control the elements of nature and unleash their wrath on earth

Part the waters with mine own hands I owned your souls and I owned brains
I have the power to move and manipulate large water bodies and influence people's thoughts and actions

Oh I unafraid in the valley of my death Took my ribs and tore them from my chest My words of gold were carved in stone
I faced death and destruction without fear and sacrificed myself for a greater cause, knowing that my legacy will live on forever

But in the dead of night When everything is quiet There's a blast of lightning And the righteous will fall
No one is invincible, and there will come a time when even the most powerful and righteous will be faced with defeat and destruction

In the fading light Of my deluded mind There's a light in the darkness And the righteous will fall
Even in times of mental confusion and despair, there is still hope that justice will prevail and those who abuse their power will be held accountable

Everybody wants the righteous to fall
There is a universal desire among people to see those in power or privilege fall from grace, as a means of balancing the scales of justice

I was there at the dawn of time I drowned the pharaohs in the sea I seized the mighty ax of power 'Til nothing on earth could hinder me
I have existed since the beginning of creation and have used my power to overthrow and subjugate even the mightiest of rulers, leaving no obstacle in my path

But in the dead of night When everything is quiet There's a fight in the darkness And the righteous will fall You were waiting for the righteous to fall
Despite the appearance of complete dominance and control, there is always a hidden struggle taking place in the shadows, and eventually, those who seek to do harm will meet their downfall

Contributed by Alex B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS