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The Animals House Of The Rising Sun Lyrics Information:
IF YOU DON'T SEE THE GREEN FOOTNOTE REFERENCE NUMBER(S) IN THE TEXT ABOVE
TRY GOING TO THE PREVIOUS VERSION BY CLICKING ON THE LINK "SEE OTHER
VERSIONS" IN THE ORANGE BOX ABOVE. ALSO SOMETIMES THE LYRICS ON PREVIOUS
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CURRENT VERSION.
THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN2a2b
Written by: Alan Price & Traditional
Produced by: Mickie Most
Performed by: The Animals 34
First released: 5
Single: June 1964 (U.K.), August 1964 (U.S.)
Album: September 1964 (U.S.), October 1964 (U.K.)
1 Ball and chain, as used here, is a phrase that refers to a restraining device that was used
to slow down prisoners, consisting of a heavy, solid, metal ball, attached to a chain, which
is shackled to the leg.
2a Various places in New Orleans, Louisiana, have been proposed as the inspiration for the
song, with varying degrees of plausibility. Only two candidates, however, have historical
documentation as using the name "Rising Sun," both having listings in old city directories.
The first was a small short-lived hotel on Conti Street in the French Quarter in the 1820s.
An excavation and document search in early 2005 found evidence supporting this claim,
including an advertisement with language that may have euphemistically indicated prostitution.
The second was a late 19th-century, "Rising Sun Hall," on the riverfront of the uptown
Carrollton neighborhood, which seems to have been a building owned and used for meetings
of a "Social Aid & Pleasure Club," commonly rented out for dances and functions. Definite
links to gambling or prostitution, if any, are undocumented for either of these buildings,
neither of which still exists.
2b The Animals' rendition of "The House of the Rising Sun," which was a #1 hit in the United
Kingdom, United States, Sweden and Canada, is recognized as one of the classic outputs of the
British Invasion. Writer Lester Bangs, who writes for Rolling Stone magazine, labelled it
"a brilliant rearrangement and a new rendition of an old standard composition." It ranked
#122 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. It is also one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The RIAA 6 placed it
at #240 on their Songs of the Century list. In 1999 it received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.
And besides critical acclaim, it has long since become a staple of oldies and classic rock
radio formats.
3 Personnel appearing on this recording:
* Eric Burdon - vocals
* Hilton Valentine - guitar
* Alan Price - keyboards
* Chas Chandler - bass
* John Steel - drums
4 The earliest recording of this song is by Clarence "Tom" Ashley & Gwen Foster in 1933.
Also covered by (partial list):
Roy Acuff
The Adolescents
Mike Auldridge
Bachman Turner Overdrive
Joan Baez
Brand New Sin
The Callahan Brothers
Tracy Chapman
Bob Dylan
Evereve
Marianne Faithful
Frijid Pink
Woodie Guthrie
Jandek
Claude King
Lead Belly
Miriam Makeba
Sinead O'Connor
Dolly Parton
Peter, Paul & Mary
Sentenced
Nina Simone
Nat Stuckey
The Supremes
Conway Twitty
Glenn Yarbrough
et al.
5 Appears on: *
SINGLE(S):
(1)The Animals:
A-side: "House of the Rising Sun"
B-side: "Bring It on Home to Me"
(a) Columbia, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm Single, #UK-1964.
(b) ABCKO, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm Single, #4025, US-1964.
(2)The Animals:
A-side: "House of the Rising Sun"
B-side: "Boom Boom"
(a) Odeon, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm Single, #OR-2459, Japan-1964.
(b) EMI, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm Single, #EMR-20320, Japan-1965.
EP(S):
(EP1)The Animals:
Track 1: "The House of the Rising Sun"
Track 2: "I'm Crying"
Track 3: "Boom Boom"
Track 4: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
(a) Odeon, 4-Track, 7-Inch, Red Vinyl, 45rpm EP, #OP-4062, Japan-1964.
(EP2)The Animals Sing:
Track 1: "The House of the Rising Sun"
Track 2: "Talkin' About You"
Track 3: "Gonna Send You Back to Walker"
Track 4: "Baby, Let Me Take You Home"
(a) Columbia-EMI, 4-Track, 7-Inch, Red Vinyl, 45rpm EP, #OP-4062, Italy-1965.
(EP3)Apresentamos The Animals:
Track 1: "The House of the Rising Sun"
Track 2: "Talkin' About You"
Track 3: "Take It Easy"
Track 4: "I'm Crying"
(a) Columbia-EMI, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm EP, #SLEM-2180, Portugal-1965.
(EP4)The Animals:
Track 1: "La casa del sol naciente" ("The House of the Rising Sun")
Track 2: "Ne andado por el mundo" ("I've Been Around")
Track 3: "Es mi vida" ("It's My Life")
Track 4: "Voy a cambiar el mundo" ("I'm Going to Change the World")
(a) Capitol, 7-Inch Vinyl, 4-Trackl, 45rpm EP, #EPEM-10030, Mexico-1966.
(EP5)The Animals: EMI Hits
Track 1: "The House of the Rising Sun"
Track 2: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
Track 3: "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place"
Track 4: "Around and Around"
(a) Columbia-EMI, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm EP, #SEGS-149, Sweden-1966.
(EP6)The Animals:
Track 1: "The House of the Rising Sun"
Track 2: "Inside Looking Out"
Track 3: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
Track 4: "Don't Bring Me Down"
(a) MGM, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm EP, #SKM-1078, Japan-1968.
* The album(s) and record(s) listed here may have different versions of the song than the
one that was transcribed. Also, this list is not intended to be the complete discography on
which this song appears.
6 The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a group which represents the
recording industry distributors in the United States. Its members consist of record labels
and distributors, which the RIAA says "create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately
85% of all legitimate sound recordings produced and sold in the United States." The RIAA
participates in the collection, administration and distribution of music licenses and
royalties and is responsible for certifying sales silver (100,000), gold (500,000), platinum
(1,000,000), and diamond (10,000,000) albums and singles in the USA.
7 Transcribed from the track on this album.
House Of The Rising Sun lyrics, The Animals related songs
