Where Did The House of the Rising Sun Rise Up From?
From broadside ballad to iconic folk-rock hit
“The House of the Rising Sun” is a song about life gone wrong down in New Orleans. In 1964, British rock group, The Animals, had a number one hit with the song in the UK, US and Canada. Released during a period when R&B was transitioning to rock, The Animals’ “The House of the Rising Sun” is considered the first folk-rock hit.
But the origins of “The House of the Rising Sun” remain unknown to this day.
A traditional folk song
The Animals based their version of the “The House of the Rising Sun” on a traditional folk song. No one really knows if the original song was American, English or even French. We do know that the song is hundreds of years old.
“The House of the Rising Sun” possibly originated from “The Unfortunate Rake”, a 16th century English folk song about a young man dying of syphilis.
The actual “house” from the song could have been a bawdy house or it could have been a pub or even a hotel where “discerning gentlemen” applied makeup to their faces. Most certainly, it was a place of ill repute.
At any rate, the original folk song is older than the city of New Orleans, which was founded in 1718. It’s quite…
