Sons of Perdition's first album, The Kingdom is On Fire, was released in 2007. The Hank in Chains Review had this to say of it: "Sons have delivered a beautiful brimstone masterpiece with The Kingdom Is On Fire... an absolutely phenomenal album from start to finish."
Kingdom was followed by Psalms for the Spiritually Dead in 2010. James Carlson called it "a musical sermon unlike any other."
Trinity, the third and final album in Sons of Perdition’s Dissolution Trilogy, was released on GraveWax Records on November 12, 2013. At over 72 minutes, Trinity is a long, metaphorical narrative that tells of a man’s hellish pilgrimage through the American Southwest.
Zebulon Whatley was raised outside the rural settlement of Scrougout, Texas on a diet of fanatic religion and weird fiction. He currently resides in Austin, Texas.
Psalm of Withering
Sons of Perdition Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Watch her pretty flesh wither and drop from the bone
Smell the tears of that boy as they pain his poor face
His heart stumbles and it falters with complete lack of grace
Hear the man cursing softly as he dies in his bed
In the clutches of the cancer that blooms in his head
Feel the soul of that lady get sucked through the gates
Though her body treads onward down the path that she hates
Yeah, taste the blood on the teeth of the only one you love
Well, the preacher on Monday like the farmer of Sunday
And the shephard on some other day, no they ain't exempt
So waste time with your tears
Because it's worse than you fear
You gotta get right out of town before your own day gets here
Now sow the seeds in that ground that grows so fallow and cold
You know they'll never be found, I say, they'll only grow mold
'Cause there ain't gonna be no big harvest this year
I tell you, time to settle debts
It is a drawing so near
Now taste the blood on the teeth of the only one you love
Yeah, taste the blood on the teeth of the only one you love
The song "Psalm of Withering" by Sons of Perdition is a poignant and emotional portrayal of the human experience of pain and suffering. The lyrics describe individuals from different walks of life, all experiencing their own unique types of suffering. The first verse describes a girl weeping silently in her cold, empty home, with her pretty flesh withering and dropping from her bones. The second verse depicts a boy in tears, his heart stumbling and faltering with complete lack of grace. The third verse is about a man cursing softly in his death bed, in the clutches of cancer that blooms in his head, and the fourth verse talks about a lady whose soul gets sucked through the gates, even though her body continues to tread forward down the path that she hates. The final verse speaks about the inevitability of death and the transience of life. It tells us to sow seeds in the ground that grows so fallow and cold, knowing that there will never be a big harvest this year, as time draws near to settle debts.
The emotions conveyed in "Psalm of Withering" are raw and vividly portrayed, making it a powerful and thought-provoking song. The pain and sorrow that the characters are going through paints a bleak picture of the human condition, but there is also an underlying message of hope and resilience. The song tells us to confront the inevitability of our own demise and to live our lives to the fullest while we still can. It is a reminder that life is a gift, and we must cherish it while we have it.
Line by Line Meaning
See the girl weeping silent in her cold empty home
Observing a girl silently crying in her drained and abandon house
Watch her pretty flesh wither and drop from the bone
Her beautiful appearance diminishes to nothing as her health declines
Smell the tears of that boy as they pain his poor face
A boy's crying face emits a pungent scent of sorrow
His heart stumbles and it falters with complete lack of grace
His emotions are deepening and his ability to cope is diminishing
Hear the man cursing softly as he dies in his bed
As a man is in his final moments, he utters a quiet yet frustrated profanity
In the clutches of the cancer that blooms in his head
The man's life is being consumed by the disease that has taken over his body
Feel the soul of that lady get sucked through the gates
As a woman passes away, her soul is being transported to the afterlife
Though her body treads onward down the path that she hates
Despite continuing in life, she feels discontent along the way
Now taste the blood on the teeth of the only one you love
The bitterness of experiencing love from your beloved, who may hurt you
Well, the preacher on Monday like the farmer of Sunday
The profession of a preacher is similar to that of a farmer
And the shephard on some other day, no they ain't exempt
The job of a shepherd is no exception to this similarity
So waste time with your tears
Crying will not change anything, so it is a waste of time
Because it's worse than you fear
What is happening is worse than anticipated
You gotta get right out of town before your own day gets here
Leave town before your own misfortune arrives
Now sow the seeds in that ground that grows so fallow and cold
Plant seeds in the barren and frigid soil
You know they'll never be found, I say, they'll only grow mold
The seeds will not bloom and will instead rot or be overlooked
'Cause there ain't gonna be no big harvest this year
There will not be a successful yield this year
I tell you, time to settle debts
It's time to resolve any outstanding debts
It is a drawing so near
This deadline is approaching and almost here
Now taste the blood on the teeth of the only one you love
Once again, reflecting on the bitterness of loving someone who may cause pain
Contributed by Victoria B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
sadlobster1
He may be a preacher. But he has, clearly broken two of the most important commandments of the Bible.
Thou shalt not create any graven images and thou shalt not kill
Ben Cook
@sadlobster1 He killed that song!! Amen!
TheWorldsOnFire
At the risk of inflating my own ego, it seems that the priest was obsessed with capturing the horror and morbid nature of the Crucifiction of Christ, his efforts only yielding twisted mockeries of the sacrifice of the son. The murder of the drifter and the subsequent acceptance of the congregation appears to represent that sadistic perversion of Christianity as a cult of death and pain instead of one of love and peace. The follows want harrowing imagery and not the actual message of Christ.
Xander Derrick
Nailed it.
Good Things
I'M SPEECHLESS - this is fucking amazing and one of the best videos I've ever seen!!!!!!!!
Behold I am a Beholder
I really like the artwork
John Peterson
Wow! I will be sharing this video with friends for sure.
HeroSpiderman
Amazing!
EZisasEZdoes
Sublime video. Captures the creative depravity flawlessly in my humble opinion.
Jim Kones
using the song title as a key to interpreting the video, I feel from this video that the preacher's own being is reflected in the images he creates. withered, deform, ghoulish -- it was necessary that he pass through all these states of his own spirit, experiencing them personally, that he might finally grasp the true form of Christ, to be manifested in its final wooden avatar. his spiritual battle culminates in a mythical sacrifice of the Jesus look-alike, a ritual act that transcends time.