does anyone no the song house of the rising sun accually means ya no like the story behind the words or well like i kinda no it but i just want more details The House of the Raising Sun was bordello in New Orleans, back from the days when that was legal. The place was both imfamous and famous. yeah infamous, what he said Originally sunbg from the persepctive of a young woman from a dysfunctional home going off to work in a whorehouse. "The House of the Rising Run" is a traditional English ballad. The lyrics were written by Georgia Turner and Bert Martin (both from Kentucky). The song was first recorded in the 1920s by black bluesman Texas Alexander and later covered by Leadbelly, Charlie Byrd, Roy Acuff, Woody Guthrie, the Weavers, Peter, Paul & Mary, Henry Mancini, Dolly Parton, David Allan Coe, John Fahey, Waylon Jennings, Tim Hardin, Buster Poindexter, Marianne Faithful, Tracy Chapman and Bob Dylan . . . just to name a few.
But... the song was made most famous by a British group known as "The Animals." And, I might add, this was the first song since 1962 by a British band to hit #1 in America that was not written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney!
The song's lyrics are about a brothel in New Orleans. "The House Of The Rising Sun" was named after Madame Marianne LeSoleil Levant (which means "Rising Sun" in French) and was open for business from 1862 (occupation by Union troops) until 1874, when it was closed due to complaints by neighbors. It was located at 826-830 St. Louis St.
The melody is a traditional English ballad, but the song became popular as an African-American Folk song. It was the artist, Nina Simone's version, that the Animals first heard. No one can claim rights to the song, meaning it can be recorded and sold royalty-free.
Many bands recorded versions of this after it became a hit for The Animals. I find this an AMAZING fact: The Animals' single version is cut down, but still runs about 4:30, which was very long for any song on the radio at the time. In summary, this was the first #1 hit recorded that was over 4 MINUTES LONG.
In the traditional Folk version, the main character is a prostitute. The Animals changed it to a gambler to make their version more radio-friendly.
The organ solo was inspired by jazzman Jimmy Smith's hit "Walk on the Wild Side."
I hope this info was helpful! You have your answers and good ones at that.
Something you may want to hear.
The Blind Boys of Alabama sing the words to Amazing Grace while playing the chord structure to House of the Rising Sun. |
