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The House of the Rising Sun

[ Roud 6393 ; Ballad Index RL250 ; DT HOUSESUN ; Mudcat 8592 ; trad.]

Clarence Ashley and Gwen Foster sang The Rising Sun Blues one a 1933 Vocalion 78rpm shellac record.

Josh White sang The House of the Rising Sun on the B-side of his 1942 78rpm shellac record Evil Hearted Man. This recording was included in January 2005 on the Uncut magazine album attachmemt, Tracks That Influenced Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan sang this song on his eponymous March 1962 debut album, Bob Dylan.

Isla Cameron sang The House of the Rising Sun on the 1959 Jupiter and 1962 Folkways album The Jupiter Book of Ballads.

The Animals sang The House of the Rising Sun in 1964 on a Columbia single and on their first album, The Animals.

Brenda Wootton sang House of the Rising Sun in 1982 on her RCA album Lyonesse.

Emily Sanders, Chris Parkinson and Pete Morton sang The House of the Rising Sun in 2016 on their Fellside album The Magical Christmas Tree.

Elspeth Cowie sang The House of the Rising Sun on her 2023 album Who Knows Where the Time Goes?. She noted:

“Let’s just make it very different from any other version,” I suggested. Job done, and how! This one has been with me for a long time. It started out as an American folk song that—as one theory among several goes—is about a shady establishment run by Madame Marianne LeSoleil Levant in 1860s New Orleans, Louisiana. For a deeper read, see Matt Marshall’s article ‘A Brief History of the House of the Rising Sun’ at americanbluesscene.com. Ted Anthony wrote a whole book about it—Chasing the Rising Sun. I personally think Jake [Stokes] has produced a blues rock fusion that can sit unashamedly alongside the best arrangements I have ever heard of this old favourite. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it. Sam Higham on drums, Ayrton Foote on the Hammond, Jake on guitars, and Rob [Stokes] on Seydel blues harps—you rock, guys!

Broom Bezzums sang House of the Rising Sun on their 2025 album Standing Strong.

Lyrics

Isla Cameron sings The House of the Rising Sun

There is a house in New Orleans,
They call the Rising Sun.
It has been the ruin of many poor girl,
And me, O Lord, for one.

If I had listened what mama said,
I’d have been at home today.
But being so young and foolish, O Lord
I let a gambler lead me astray.

My mother is a tailor,
She sews those new blue jeans
But sweetheart is a gambling man
Drinks down in New Orleans.

Well the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and a trunk.
The only time he’s satisfied
Is when he’s on a drunk.

He’ll fill those glasses to the brim,
And he passes them around.
And the only pleasure he gets out of life
Is hoboing from town to town.

Go tell my baby sister
Don’t do what I have done
But shun that house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun.

I’m going back to New Orleans
My life is almost run.
I’m going back to spend my days
Beneath the Rising Sun.

Broom Bezzums sing House of the Rising Sun

O there is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it’s been the ruin of many a poor boy
And, God, I know I’m one

O my mother was a tailor
She sewed my new blue jeans
And my father was a gambling man
Way down in New Orleans

Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and a trunk
And the only time that he is satisfied
Is when he’s on a trump

O mothers, tell your children
Not to do what I have done
And spend your lives in sin and misery
In the House of the Rising Sun

I’ve got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
O and I’m goin’ back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain

O there is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it’s been the ruin of many a poor boy
God, I know I’m one