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 gamblin' man
Down in New Orleans

Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and trunk
And the only time he'll be satisfied
Is when he's all 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 goin' 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


Lyrics submitted by Novartza, edited by Kadenakid

The House of the Rising Sun Lyrics as written by Alan Price

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Anthem Entertainment, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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House Of The Rising Sun song meanings
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    General Comment

    The narrator is harboring an addiction/compulsion because he is going back. drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc.

    The mother and father archetypes: The overindulgent mother and the absent father. The boy blames his absent father for his situation.

    The original meaning of the song, girls point of view and brothel, is lost in the rewrite.

    Whatever the original intention of the song, imo, the theme is universal. Namely, making a living at something you know is sinful or disingenuous or just plain boring, but yet you cannot stop because there are no other options and you must go back. Just basic survival. i.e., when we go to our "9 to 5" job aren't most of us going to our "house of the rising sun" to wear that "ball and chain"?

    bocanoton October 24, 2006   Link

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