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"The House of the Rising Sun" is a United States Folk Song . ORIGIN Like many classic folk ballads, the authorship of "The House of the Rising Sun", sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues", is dubious. Folklorist Alan Lomax , author of the seminal 1941 songbook '' Our Singing Country '', wrote that the melody was taken from a traditional English ballad and the lyrics written by a pair of Kentuckians named Georgia Turner and Bert Martin. Other scholars have proposed different explanations, although Lomax's is generally considered most plausible. It has been suggested that the phrase "Rising Sun" may have been an old euphamism for a Brothel , but it is not known whether or not the house described in the lyrics is an actual or fictitious place. The oldest known existing recording is by Clarence Ashley and Gwen Foster and was released in 1934 . Ashley thought he had learned it from his grandmother, Enoch Ashley. Texas Alexander 's "The Risin' Sun", which was recorded in 1928, is sometimes mentioned as the first recording, but this is a completely different song. Roy Acuff , who recorded the song commercially on November 3 , 1938 , may have learned this number from such neighboring Smoky Mountain artists as versatile entertainer Clarence Ashley or the Callahan Brothers , an influential duet team of the '30s and '40s. Artists ranging from Bob Dylan to Dolly Parton to Bachman-Turner Overdrive have covered the song, and is a standard cover by bar bands and major recording artists alike. In 1964 it achieved newfound popularity when it was recorded by the British rock group The Animals . Their version has become a staple of oldies and classic rock radio stations. The gender of the singer is flexible. Earlier versions of the song are often sung from the female perspective, a woman who followed a drunk or a gambler to New Orleans and became a prostitute in the House of the Rising Sun, such as in Nina Simone 's version. The Animals version was sung from a perspective of a male, warning about drinking and gambling. THE REAL HOUSE? Various places in "Rising Sun Hall" in the riverfront of the uptown Carrollton Neighborhood , which seems to have been a building owned and used for meetings of a Social Aid & Pleasure Club, commonly rented out for dances and functions. Definite links to gambling or prostitution, if any, are undocumented for either of these buildings, neither of which still exist. A guidebook called Offbeat New Orleans asserts that the real House of the Rising Sun was at 826–830 St. Louis St. between 1862 and 1874 and was purportedly named for its madam, Marianne LeSoleil Levant, whose surname translates to "The Rising Sun." It is possible that the "House of the Rising Sun" is a metaphor for either the slave pens of the plantation, the plantation house, or the plantation itself, which were the subjects and themes of many traditional blues songs. LYRICS The traditional lyrics, as recorded by Lomax, are as follows: :There is a house in New Orleans :They call the Rising Sun. :It's been the ruin of many a poor girl, :And me, O God, for one. :If I had listened what Mamma said, :I'd 'a' been at home today. :Being so young and foolish, poor boy, :Let a rambler lead me astray. :Go tell my baby sister :Never do like I have done :To shun that house in New Orleans :They call the Rising Sun. :My mother she's a tailor; :She sold those new blue jeans. :My sweetheart, he's a drunkard, Lord, Lord, :Drinks down in New Orleans. :The only thing a drunkard needs :Is a suitcase and a trunk. :The only time he's satisfied :Is when he's on a drunk. :Fills his glasses to the brim, :Passes them around :Only pleasure he gets out of life :Is hoboin' from town to town. :One foot is on the platform :And the other one on the train. :I'm going back to New Orleans :To wear that ball and chain. :Going back to New Orleans, :My race is almost run. :Going back to spend the rest of my days :Beneath that Rising Sun. PERFORMANCES Johnny Hallyday sang a French version of the song called "Les Portes du Pénitencier". A Catalan version was performed by the group Els Dracs under the title "La Casa del Sol Naixent". A popular version from the 1930s was recorded by Leadbelly , who added ambiguity to the lyrics by changing the gender of the singer. The Animals version, sung by Eric Burdon , is possibly the best known today. Other artists to cover the song include: Joan Baez , The Be Good Tanyas , Eric Bibb & Cyndee Peters, Blind Boys Of Alabama (as ‘Amazing Grace’), David Allen Coe , The Doors , Bob Dylan (as part of His Self-titled Debut Album ), The Eagles , Tommy Emmanuel , Marianne Faithfull , Frijid Pink , Woody Guthrie , Wyclef Jean et Les Portes du Pen, Waylon Jennings , Brian Johnson , Sammy Kaye , B.B. King and Mary Travers , Mark Knopfler , Kult , Led Zeppelin , Ronnie Milsap , Roger McGuinn , La Renga , Muse , Sinéad O'Connor , John Otway , Oysterhead , Dolly Parton , Pete Seeger , The Platters , Rockapella , The Rolling Stones , Dave Van Ronk , Nina Simone , Tangerine Dream , Toto , Tracy Chapman , The Ventures , Doc Watson & Richard Watson, The Ventures , The Weavers , The White Stripes , Josh White , and Hank Williams . TRIVIA
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