He set in 1981 a biblical text from Psalm 137 in English, beginning "By the waters of Babylon", scored for double choir a cappella.

Sumsion set in 1981[1] a translation of part of Psalm 137, expressing the distress of the Israelites in exile and captivity in Babylon after the destruction of the Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.

[3] It was premiered as part of [the Three Choirs Festival that year by the Donald Hunt Singers at the Gloucester Cathedral.

[5] The scene between the captives and the guards is set with dramatic intensity,[6] but the sorrowful beginning is repeated in text and music as a conclusion.

[7] A reviewer summarized that the "voices reproduce the effects of restless waters" in a piece which is "melodically rich, consistently interesting and deeply moving".