The House of the Rising Sun | Complete story of the first Folk-Rock song
Many of us know ‘The House of the Rising Sun’ thanks to the British band The Animals, but this song has a long history, from the 16th century to the present day. This is the story of one of the best songs of all time (#123 according to Rolling Stone).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Video | The Animals The House of the Rising Sun
- Trembol | The House of the Rising Sun Complete Story
- Story behind The Animals ‘The House of the Rising Sun’
- What does The House of the Rising Sun’ mean?
- You can’t miss | The best parts of The House of the Rising Sun
- This is what it says | Original Lyrics and The Animals The House of the Rising Sun Lyrics
- Did you know? | Fun facts about The House of the Rising Sun
- Much more | The House of the Rising Sun best covers
- Technical Note about The House of the Rising Sun
The Animals The House of the Rising Sun
Trembol | The House of the Rising Sun Complete Story
I’ll confess it, my favorite version is the one by The Animals, the famous initial guitar arpeggio and the voice of singer Eric Burdon are something supernatural, but we can not forget that the history of ‘The House of the Rising Sun‘ goes back much further in time…
…although it may seem exaggerated, studies say that the song dates back the 16th century 🕰️ in the United States. At that time it was a folk song that could be called ‘Rising Sun Blues‘. It bears resemblance to these 2 songs:
- The Unfortunate Rake (16th century)
- Matty Groves (17th century)
The first printed version of the lyrics is from 1925 and belongs to Robert Winslow Gordon it appeared in a newspaper article called ‘Old Songs That Men Have Sung‘. The lyrics in essence are like those of The Animals, but the main character changes, in the English band’s it is a man, while in the original it is a woman:
There is a house in New Orleans, it’s called the Rising Sun
It’s been the ruin of many poor girl 👧
Great God, and I for one.
The oldest recording is by Clarence ‘Tom’ Ashley and Gwen Foster, in 1933. According to Tom Ashley he had learned it from his grandfather, Enoch Ashley.
In this recording, the song talks about boys:
There is a house in New Orleans. They call the Rising Sun
Where many poor boys 👦 to destruction has gone
And me, oh God, are one.
At that time a very important character for the history of The House of the Rising Sun shows up, Alan Lomax, who was dedicated to the study of American folklore and who recorded a performance of a 16-year-old girl, daughter of a local miner under the title “The Rising Sun Blues“. Lomax recorded two more versions:
- Dawson Henson (1937)
- Bert Martin (1937): This one added some verse to the lyrics.
Two other artists would record the song in subsequent years, also incorporating new lyrics:
- Josh White in 1942
- Lead Belly in 1948: This version was already called “The House of the Rising Sun“.
We come to 1960, when Joan Baez makes the first popular version of the song. Her voice sounds beautiful:
A young Bob Dylan, just a year later, in 1961, would hear a version by Dave Van Ronk, recording it for his debut album. It became one of his signature pieces:
‘The House of the Rising Sun’ Illustration (Wikimedia)
Robert Winslow Gordon at the Library of Congress (1928) Image: American Folklife Center Archive, Library of Congress.
Byrd Moore and His Hotshots, 1929. Tom Ashley on the right
Alan Lomax (Google Images)
Alleged image of Georgia Turner (Google Images)
Joan Baez ‘The house of the rising sun’ single cover
Bob Dylan ‘The house of the rising sun’ single cover
The Animals ‘The House of the Rising Sun‘ | Story continues
The Animals (Facebook Images)
The band that really turned ‘The House of the Rising Sun‘ into a timeless hit is The Animals. Moreover, this song is considered the first Folk-Rock song 🪕
The Animals’ singer, Eric Burden, first heard the song in a club in England where Johnny Handle, a folk singer, was performing it. The Animals were going on tour with another Rock genius, Chuck Berry and thought it would be a good song to end the concerts with because of the power it had.
At first the public rejected it but throughout the tour it became an essential song. For that reason they decided to record it in 1964, they had to do it in only 1 day because they did not have more time between concert and concert:
- The guitarist, Hilton Valentine, added an arpeggio in A minor, which has been imitated ad nauseam.
- The singer, Eric Burdon, decided to sing low and deep. At times he seems to howl. This is undoubtedly the key to the success of The House of the Rising Sun.
- The organist, Alan Price, added that fierce solo to complete a whole new sound.
Eric Burdon commented:
We were looking for a song that would grab people’s attention.
The Animals’ song tells the story from a man’s perspective, not because they had heard that version of the lyrics, but because the singer thought they would identify more if the protagonist was a boy 😂
- The House of the Rising Sun was a runaway hit, reaching the top of the charts in the UK in 1964. In the U.S. it became the first number 1 of the so-called British Invasion that wasn’t by The Beatles.
What does ‘The House of the Rising Sun‘ mean? | The origin
New Orleans Houses
The Animals (Facebook Images)
The House of the Rising Sun narrates the life of someone who has had little fortune in New Orleans, but beyond that, there are many variants of the meaning.
If we start with the name “Rising Sun”, its origin is uncertain, with 3 main theories:
- French origin: The rising sun could refer to the sun insignia dating back to the time of Louis XIV and brought to North America by French immigrants.
- American origin: There are two places in New Orleans related to the name “Rising Sun”, a small hotel that existed in the 1820s and a place for dances and events called Rising Sun Hall, at the end of the 19th century. There was also a venue in 1862 run by someone named Marianne Le Soleil Levant, whose French surname means “The Rising Sun”.
- English origin: ‘The Rising Sun’ was a pub name used in some traditional English song such as “She was a Rum One” by Harry Cox, which goes:
If you go to Lowestoft, and ask for The Rising Sun, there you’ll find two old whores and my old woman is one
The meaning of ‘The House of the Rising Sun‘ lyrics also varies from version to version:
- 👱♀️ Female protagonist: In this variant the song talks about a woman who follows a gambler to New Orleans and ends up prostituting herself in the House of the Rising Sun.
- 🧔 Male protagonist: The Animals song is about a man who likes to get drunk and gamble at the house of the rising sun, which has led him to perdition.
The person who studied the case the most, Alan Lomax, concluded that the melody was of English origin and that the lyrics were written by two Americans: Georgia Turner and Bert Martin.
You can’t miss ⭐️ The best parts of The House of the Rising Sun
1. The beginning of the song is music history ❤️
2. The organ solo is a true genius.
3. The final part to the last chorus is sheer emotion!
This is what it says | The House of the Rising Sun Original Lyrics
In the older versions by Tom Ashley, Georgina Turner and Roy Acuff the gender of the protagonist alternated from male to female
And there many a poor boy to destruction has gone
And It’s been the ruin of many poor girl
There are also differences in the rest of the song, something that stopped happening when The Animals released their version. All the following ones copied it verbatim (Jimi Hendrix, Frijid Pink, The White Stripes, Toto, etc.), except for some exceptional case like the version of The House of the Rising Sun by Dolly Parton in 1981 that sang:
There is a house down in New Orleans. Down in the Vieux Carre. A house they call the rising sun. Where love and money are made
The Spanish versions also changed the meaning of the lyrics talking about houses in ruins (The Speakers in 1965), houses that give light to those who want happiness (Los Iracundos) or houses of love light (Los Cinco Latinos).
This is what it says | The Animals The House of the Rising Sun Lyrics
THE ANIMALS The House of the Rising Sun LYRICS
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
My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new blue jeans
My father was a gambling man
Down in New Orleans
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 drunk
Oh mother, tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the house of the Rising Sun
Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
I’m going back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain
Well, 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
THE ANIMALS The House of the Rising Sun LYRICS IN SPANISH
Hay una casa en Nueva Orleans
Que llaman el Sol Naciente
Y ha sido la ruina de muchos chicos pobres
Y Dios sé que yo soy uno
Mi madre era sastre
Ella cosió mis nuevos vaqueros
Mi padre era jugador
En Nueva Orleans
Ahora lo único que necesita un jugador
Es una maleta y un baúl
Y la única vez que está satisfecho
Es cuando está borracho
Oh madre, dile a tus hijos
Que no hagan lo que yo he hecho
Pasar sus vidas en pecado y miseria
En la casa del Sol Naciente
Bueno, tengo un pie en el andén
El otro pie en el tren
Voy a volver a Nueva Orleans
Para llevar esa bola y cadena
Bueno, hay una casa en Nueva Orleans
Que llaman el Sol Naciente
Y ha sido la ruina de muchos chicos pobres
Y Dios sé que yo soy uno
| Background Image: The House of the Rising Sun Image
Did you know...?
Much more | Best versions of The House of the Rising Sun
The White Buffalo The House of the Rising Sun
In 2011, The White Buffalo covered this wonderful song, being used for the final episode of the 4th season of the series “Sons Of Anarchy“.
With more than 250 versions of ‘The House of the Rising Sun’, it is difficult to choose the best ones.
Along with those we have already mentioned by The Animals, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, and discarding the old versions, we would highlight:
- Pete Seeger in 1934: The one of this great Folk artist is one of the oldest and most faithful to the original recording.
- Dolly Parton in 1980: Country version with new lyrics about a fallen woman.
- Nina Simone in 1962: This cover would be one of the best known and most successful songs of this great Soul artist.
- Frijid Pink in 1969: A psychedelic style version that also became a hit.
- Five Finger Death Punch in 2013: Metal version of ‘House of the rising sun‘.
Technical Note | House of the Rising Sun
The original song, as the name ‘Rising Sun Blues‘ indicated, was a major key blues that followed the cadence: I, IV, I, I, V, I, V, I, V.
The version popularized by Bob Dylan, following Dave Van Ronk’s changes to I, III, IV in the first and third verses, I, III, V in the second and, I, V, I, V, I, V for the fourth.
The Animals simply took this and arpeggiated each chord, starting with their mythical A minor arpeggio.
- What The Animals did change radically were the instruments, making the song a Rock-Folk song played with: electric guitar, bass, keyboards and drums.
- They also changed the time signature. The Animals’ time signature was 6/8, as opposed to the 4/4 of most previous versions.
Clarence Ashley and Gwen Foster ‘House of the Rising Sun’
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