Monday, April 29, 2024

What Is the House of the Rising Sun?: An Introduction to the Origins of the Classic Song

the house of the rising sun

The mystery deepens when you learn that there is a pub in Lowestoft called ‘The Rising Sun.’ Opened before 1964, I might add. 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, they sing in the chorus. An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular. Sting wrote "Fields of Gold" after buying a house near a barley field and enjoying the majestic sunsets. Definite links to gambling or prostitution (if any) are undocumented for either of these buildings.

the house of the rising sun

The Meaning Behind The Song: House of the Rising Sun by The Doors

the house of the rising sun

White is also credited with having written new words and music that have subsequently been popularized in the versions made by many other later artists. In August 1980, Dolly Parton released a cover of the song as the third single from her album 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs. Like Miller's earlier country hit, Parton's remake returns the song to its original lyric of being about a fallen woman. The Parton version makes it quite blunt, with a few new lyric lines that were written by Parton. Parton's remake 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; it also reached number 30 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. Parton has occasionally performed the song live, including on her 1987–88 television show, in an episode taped in New Orleans.

Who sang 'House of the Rising Sun' the best? - Far Out Magazine

Who sang 'House of the Rising Sun' the best?.

Posted: Wed, 21 Sep 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Ranking the 6 Best Beatles Songs on Which Only One Member Appears

Stone Temple Pilots bass player Robert DeLeo names the songs that have most connected with fans and tells the stories behind tracks from their Tiny Music album. "Your Time Is Gonna Come" became the first Led Zeppelin song to be covered when Sandie Shaw recorded it in 1969. Famous Yugoslav singer Miodrag "Miki" Jevremović covered the song and included it in his 1964 EP "18 Žutih Ruža" (eng. "Eighteen Yellow Roses"). "House of the Rising Sun" was not included on any of the group's British albums, but it was reissued as a single twice in subsequent decades, charting both times, reaching number 25 in 1972 and number 11 in 1982. While there is no specific true story behind the song, House of the Rising Sun draws inspiration from the themes and experiences common in the world of addiction, regret, and lost opportunities.

Charts

By the time the ’60s rolled around, the folk legend Dave Van Ronk included an intense take on “House of the Rising Sun” as a steady part of his live repertoire. His young acolyte Bob Dylan largely mimicked Van Ronk’s arrangement of the song and included it on his debut album. Across the pond at around the same time, Burdon apparently heard the song from a local folk singer in England. Burdon brought it into the Animals, who electrified the song for their 1964 self-titled debut album.

More Songfacts:

Although the date and author of the song are unknown, some musicologists have said that it resembled ballads of the 16th century, and could very easily have derived from one of that time. As a popular folk song, the oldest record of “House of the Rising Sun” in reference to a song was 1905, and it was first recorded in 1933 by an Appalachian group. Other early recordings include Woody Guthrie’s version from 1941 and Bob Dylan in 1961. The version by the Animals, however, is by far the most popular, and Dylan is often annoyed when it is assumed that he covered that song from them.

Curious About The Meaning of Other Famous Songs?

Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan played “House of the Ris­ing Sun” in cof­fee­hous­es. Bur­don him­self picked the song up from the Eng­lish folk scene, and the Ani­mals first cov­ered the slow, sin­is­ter tune when they opened for Chuck Berry because they knew they “could­n’t out­rock” the gui­tar great. Eric Bur­don and the Ani­mals, who pop­u­lar­ized the song world­wide when they record­ed and released it in 1964, did­n’t know. Many have sung “House of the Rising Sun” before Eric Burdon took it on with the Animals, and many will sing it in the future. Its psychological insight and philosophical meaning are all too relevant for this song to be anything but timeless. But it’s hard to imagine that anybody will ever again inhabit that doomed soul at the epicenter of the tale quite as well.

The Animals' version

Mysteries in Media Vol. 3: Evil Woman, House of Rising Sun -The Heights - The Heights

Mysteries in Media Vol. 3: Evil Woman, House of Rising Sun -The Heights.

Posted: Wed, 26 Apr 2017 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Furthermore, it seems that the song has been in existence for at least three hundred years. It has been known under a variety of names and has also switched genres. In some versions, it is about a woman who is returning to prostitution. In others, a man sings the narrative bemoaning his inability to let go of his sordid past, which includes drink, women, and gambling. One thing for certain is that the original version of “House of the Rising Sun” had nothing to do with New Orleans. The first people to sing it had probably never even heard of New Orleans.

Artists - A-H

The song tells the haunting tale of a person’s downfall and subsequent ruin in the infamous House of the Rising Sun. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a life consumed by vice, sin, and despair. It speaks of a place of ill repute, a den of iniquity where the protagonist’s life takes a turn for the worse. The House of the Rising Sun serves as a metaphor for a place of temptation and moral corruption. Many believe that this points out to a brother in New Orleans, where the song was supposedly named after the occupant Madame Marianne LeSoleil Levant, which meant Rising Sun in French.

Five Finger Death Punch version

So, we shouldn’t be surprised to find references to ‘The Rising Sun.’ It is a common name for an English pub even today. Pubs of two to three hundred years ago were often “houses of ill-repute.” The song was likely carried to America by immigrants who performed it there, from whence local names and traditions became intertwined. In late 1961, Bob Dylan recorded the song for his debut album, released in March 1962.

That release had no songwriting credit, but the liner notes indicate that Dylan learned this version of the song from Dave Van Ronk. In an interview for the documentary No Direction Home, Van Ronk said that he was intending to record the song and that Dylan copied his version. Van Ronk recorded it soon thereafter for the album Just Dave Van Ronk. It creates an atmospheric and haunting mood, drawing the listener into the world of the song’s protagonist. The lyrics, combined with the haunting instrumentals and Jim Morrison’s emotive vocals, establish a dark and introspective atmosphere throughout the track.

He is tempted not to go but hasn’t got the willpower to say no, almost like he has given up on himself. A song that, when you try to get to the bottom of what it is all about and where it came from, asks more questions than it answers. The meaning behind “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals is one such song.

Male singers made it “the ruin of many a poor boy,” which transformed the title establishment into a gambling den. There are far too many versions of “House of the Rising Sun” to list them all. But, a few notable recordings are Leadbelly from 1948, Joan Baez from 1960, and Bob Dylan from 1962. Both the Joan Baez and Dylan versions were included on their first albums, which were both very folk-oriented. Most likely, the song in its original form was a folk song from the UK.

Old Time Music is proud to have such a passionate and talented team of writers who share their love for music with our readers. We hope you enjoy the articles and insights they bring to our platform. This is a song that is instantly recognized by those first seven or eight guitar notes. And it is a song that has become more than special in the history of Rock and Blues Music.

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