The house of the rising sun

I chose to discuss about one of my favorite song from the sixties “The house of the rising sun” by “the animals”

it was one of the first songs I learned to play on guitar so it has a sentimental value for me.

“house of the rising sun” was the band’s second single and released in 1964, and in my opinion is still relevant  till this day.

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 is 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 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

the story behind the song:

a surprising fact about the song is that the song is originally known as an old folk song by the name  “rising sun blues”.

and in an interview with the band’s lead singer, ERIC BURDON,

it was revealed that that he first heard the song in a club in Newcastle, England, where it was sung by a Northumbrian folk singer, and after that the band decided to sing this song on tour. the sing was the band’s closing act and by that differentiate themselves from acts that always closed with straight rockers. It got a tremendous reaction from the audience ,and between tour stops the group went to a small recording studio on Kingsway in London to capture it.

The song was recorded in just one take on May 18, 1964.

the success of the song:

the song was a trans Atlantic hit: it reached the top of the most famous billboards.

among them was the UK pop singles chart in July 1964,

and also the US pop chart two months later, where it stayed for three weeks and considered the first song that wasn’t a “Beatles” song to “invade” the US.

It was the group’s breakthrough hit in both countries and became their signature song (also in my eyes).

It ranked number 122 on Rolling stone magazine’s list of “500 Greatest Songs Of All Times”.

 surprising covers:

Dolly Parton- In August 1981, Dolly Parton released a cover of the song as the third single from her album 9 to 5 and odd jobs. Parton’s remake was a little different than the original , in which she underlines the story of a fallen woman. The cover  reached number 14 on the US country singles chart and crossed over to the pop charts, where it reached number 77 on the Billboard HOT 100. 

Alt-j- The English art rock band Alt-j covered the song  for their 2017 Relaxer album. which in my opinion shows the eternity of the song and emphasizes the song’s power and relativity to the pop culture until this day.

Bibliography:

“songsfact.com”

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-animals/the-house-of-the-rising-sun

“ultimate classic rock”

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/animals-house-of-the-rising-sun/

“i love classic rock”

The Story Behind ‘The House Of The Rising Sun’ By The Animals