HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN

HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN
Traditional

There is a house in New Orleans,

They call the Rising Sun,

It has been the ruin of many a poor girl,

And me, oh Lord was one.

If I had listened to what mama said,

I'd be at home today.

But being so young and foolish, poor girl,

Let a gambler lead me astray.

My mother is a tailor,

She sews those new blue jeans.

My sweetheart is a drunkard, Lord,

Drinks down in New Orleans.

The only thing a drunkard needs

Is a suitcase and a trunk.

The only time he's satisfied

Is when he's on a drunk.

He'll fill his glasses to the brim,

He passes them around.

And the only pleasure that he gets out of life

Is bumming from town to town.

Go tell my baby sister,

Never do like I have done.

To shun that house in New Orleans

They call the Rising Sun.

It's one foot on the platform,

And the other one on the train.

I'm going back to New Orleans

To wear the ball and chain.

I'm going back to New Orleans,

My race is almost run.

I'm going back to spend my life

Beneath that Rising Sun.

Footnote: To celebrate American Independence Day, an American song which was very popular during the Scottish Folk Revival. The great Josh MacRae, in particular, was outstanding in performing the 'Rising Sun'. No one appears to know the exact origin of this famous Negro folk blues. The well-known folk collector, the late Alan Lomax, stated that many jazz musicians were familiar with the song before World War I. Rising Sun, as the name for a bawdy house, occurs in many folk songs.