House of the Rising Sun (1964) – The Animals

The House of the Rising Sun by The Animals is one of the most recognisable tunes in the canon of Western popular music. The first few bars of the haunting intro sends chills down the spine and the guitar riff paired with the organ is nothing short of iconic. It does feel like you’re taking a step down the alleyways of folk, blues, and rock history. Released in 1964, The Animals’ version stormed the charts, reaching No.1 in the UK, Canada, and the US. Its melody and lyrics trace back to a traditional English ballad, which crossed the Atlantic and found a home in the American South, especially among African-American folk musicians.

Some of the earliest known recordings include Texas Alexander in the 1920s, Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie and Josh White. Nina Simone recorded her version at the Village Gate in 1962. The Animals heard it and lead singer Eric Burdon and band transformed it into their gritty Newcastle-born blues-rock style. And because the song exists in the public domain, anyone – from buskers to Bob Dylan – has been free to reinterpret it without worrying about royalties.

So what exactly is the House of the Rising Sun? The most accepted theory is that it’s a metaphorical or literal place of ruin – a brothel, a prison, or even a gambling den. In some versions, it’s a women’s prison in New Orleans, nicknamed the Rising Sun for the emblem above the entrance. In others, the house is a brothel run by a madam called “Rising Sun,” and it’s the ruin of “many a poor girl.” The Animals, aiming for radio appeal reimagined the narrator as a wayward male gambler.

Bob Dylan sang the female-narrated version on his 1962 debut album, using an arrangement he got it from folk revivalist Dave Van Ronk (who was not pleased when Dylan recorded it first). When The Animals released their electrified version, Dylan’s understood that folk songs could have rock arrangement. Shortly after, Dylan plugged in at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

[Chorus]
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

[Verse 1]
My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new blue jeans
My father was a gamblin’ man
Down in New Orleans

[Verse 2]
Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and a trunk
And the only time he’s satisfied
Is when he’s on a drum

[Verse 3]
Oh, mothers, tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the House of the Rising Sun

[Verse 4]
Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
I’m goin’ back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain

References:
1. The Making Of… The Animals’ The House Of The Rising Sun – UnCut
2. Songfacts – The Animals

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