This traditional folk song of the American south tells the story of a son abandoned by his ramblin' gamblin' Daddy.
Bruce Gray recorded this performance during an open mic at the Acoustic Coffee House in Vermillion, SD.
kansas
folk
blues
nebraska
michigan
iowa
acoustic rock
bluegrass
minnesota
missouri
south dakota
north dakota
mark winegar
doc winegar
mark leon winegar
acoustic coffee house
vaac
vermillion area arts coun
Creative Commons license
Commercial uses of this track are NOT allowed
Adaptations of this track are NOT allowed to be shared
You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the artist
Story behind the song
My version of the song is pretty close to the of The Animals but I dropped the verse about the ball and chain and added two of my own. Mine are the 4th & 5th verses. There's a few other modifications here and there to fit it into my style of playing the song. Some words just roll of the tongue better than others.
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 bluejeans
My father was a gamblin' man
Way down in New Orleans
Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and trunk
And the only time he's satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk
Well I went way down to new orleans
I went there with my six gun
And I went to find my daddy dear
to introduce him to his son.
Well I found him with a pretty young girl
My Lord, she was so fine
I shot him dead right then and there
and now I'm doing time.
Oh mother tell your children
Not to do what I have done
They should shun old new orleans
and the House of the Rising Sun
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