House of the Rising Sun Lyrics
There is a house in New Orleans
You call the Rising Sun
It's been the ruin of many a poor soul
And me, oh God, I'm one
If I'd listened to what mama said
Be at home today
Being so young and foolish, poor girl
I let a gambler lead me astray
My mother she's a tailor
Sews those new blue jeans
My sweetheart, he's a drunkard, Lord God
He drinks down in New Orleans
He fills his glasses to the brim
Passes them around
The only pleasure that he gets out of life
Is a-hoboin' from town to town
The only thing a drunkard needs
Is a suitcase and a trunk
Only time that he's half-satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk
Go and tell my baby sister
Never do like I have done
Shun that house down in New Orleans
That they call that Rising Sun
You call the Rising Sun
It's been the ruin of many a poor soul
And me, oh God, I'm one
If I'd listened to what mama said
Be at home today
Being so young and foolish, poor girl
I let a gambler lead me astray
My mother she's a tailor
Sews those new blue jeans
My sweetheart, he's a drunkard, Lord God
He drinks down in New Orleans
He fills his glasses to the brim
Passes them around
The only pleasure that he gets out of life
Is a-hoboin' from town to town
The only thing a drunkard needs
Is a suitcase and a trunk
Only time that he's half-satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk
Go and tell my baby sister
Never do like I have done
Shun that house down in New Orleans
That they call that Rising Sun
It's one foot on the platform
One foot on the train
I'm going back down to New Orleans
To wear my ball and my chain
My life is almost over
My race is almost run
Going back down to New Orleans
To that house of the Rising Sun
One foot on the train
I'm going back down to New Orleans
To wear my ball and my chain
My life is almost over
My race is almost run
Going back down to New Orleans
To that house of the Rising Sun
About
Genius Annotation
“(The) House of the Rising Sun” (also known as “Rising Sun Blues”) is a traditional folk song which tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In Guthrie’s version (considered closer to the original folk song than the far more famous cover by the Animals), the singer of the song is a woman who has been led astray by a drunkard gambler despite her working-class mother’s honest example.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
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