Peccatum was formed by singer Ihriel (Heidi Solberg Tveitan), her husband I… Read Full Bio ↴Peccatum was formed by singer Ihriel (Heidi Solberg Tveitan), her husband Ihsahn (of the well-known black metal band Emperor), and her brother Lord PZ (Source of Tide) in Norway. The group released five albums between their inception in 1998 and their split on March 4, 2006. Lost in Reverie, released in 2004 after Lord PZ's departure, demonstrated a change in a more classical, avant-garde and musically opaque direction.

Lost in Reverie and the 2005 EP The Moribund People were both produced under the label Mnemosyne Productions, owned and operated by Ihriel and Ihsahn themselves.

On March 4th, 2006 Peccatum split, leaving room for Ihriel to continue with Star of Ash and Ihsahn to work on his solo work. They still work together in their other project Hardingrock.

A Penny's Worth of Heart
Peccatum Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

One is looking away
Another has walked far astray
The flock is gasping their laugh

They seem to believe
Their petty hearts are not black holes
I see a penny's worth of heart

To bathe them in
The very same nightmare
I drown

To bleed the words
That cut like razor blades
And sing

Show me the truly strong
Who needs to mirror his strength
In the broken

The daily charade
Of portioned out compassion
Who dares to know himself in another

To tie a gallows rope
Of mockery and spite
For the dawn

To breath the air

Of night, of rain
Of solitude

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Peccatum's song, "A Penny's Worth of Heart," express a powerful message about the deceptive nature of human behavior. The first verse describes a group of people who are seemingly happy, but one person is "looking away," and another has "walked far astray." Despite their happy facade, the "flock is gasping their laugh," suggesting that their laughter is forced and fake. The chorus further emphasizes this message, with the line "they seem to believe their petty hearts are not black holes." The singer can see through their façade and recognizes that they only have a "penny's worth of heart."

The second verse explores the singer's desire to expose the hypocrisy of those around them. They want to "bathe them in the very same nightmare" and "bleed the words that cut like razor blades" through their music. The singer also calls for someone who is "truly strong" and doesn't need to "mirror his strength in the broken" to show themselves. The bridge of the song describes the everyday performance of "portioned out compassion" and the lack of genuine empathy that people have for one another. The final two lines of the song convey a sense of isolation and the need to find solace in solitude.

Overall, "A Penny's Worth of Heart" is a powerful statement about the falseness of human behavior and the need for honesty and empathy in our interactions with others.

Line by Line Meaning

One is looking away
Someone is ignoring the situation

Another has walked far astray
Another person has gone far from the correct path

The flock is gasping their laugh
While laughing, the group is running out of breath

They seem to believe
It appears that they think

Their petty hearts are not black holes
They don't think their hearts are completely empty

I see a penny's worth of heart
I can see that they have a very small amount of kindness in their hearts

To bathe them in
To completely engulf them in a feeling or situation

The very same nightmare
A terrible experience they have already gone through

I drown
I become overwhelmed

To bleed the words
To let out emotions through words

That cut like razor blades
Emotions that hurt terribly