Animals – House of the Rising Sun

I bought this 1964 single when I was 12 in 1979. On the B side was the wonderful Bring It On Home to Me. I became an Animals fan that day. Let’s talk about a song so soaked in sorrow, so drenched in drama, that it feels like a dark southern gothic fable set to tape.

This is a British band covering an old American folk ballad about a New Orleans house of ill repute, and somehow, they made it definitive. The song had already passed through Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, and Bob Dylan before it landed in the hands of The Animals. But it wasn’t until Eric Burdon opened his mouth that the song finally got its fangs. His voice is more of a howl than singing at times, and gives the song the oomph it needed. 

Historians have not been able to definitively identify The House Of The Rising Sun, but the two instances I have read about are these: 

1) The song is about a brothel in New Orleans. The House Of The Rising Sun was named after its occupant 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.

2) It’s about a woman’s prison in New Orleans called the Orleans Parish women’s prison, which had an entrance gate adorned with rising sun artwork. This would explain the “ball and chain” lyrics in the song.

The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, and #1 in the UK in 1964. 

More than anything, his song cemented The Animals as the most dangerous-sounding band to crawl out of the British Invasion. It wasn’t the pop of the Hollies or Herman Hermits. This was dark. Gritty. Adult. You believed every damn word.

The original lineup only recorded three albums, yet nevertheless managed to break out eight Top 40 hits between 1964 and 1966. Alan Price left in 1965, and John Steel the following year. Also in 1966, Chandler left to start managing artists, and he discovered Jimi Hendrix in Greenwich Village.

Eric Burdon: “I don’t think that The Animals got a chance to evolve. We were the first to admit that we took blues songs from American artists, but if the Animals had stuck together and worked together instead of worrying about who was getting all the money, we could have evolved more and come out with more music to be proud of.”

The B side on my single

House of The Rising Sun

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 blue jeans
My father was a gamblin’ man
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

Oh mother tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the House of the Rising Sun

Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
I’m goin’ back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain

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

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

71 thoughts on “Animals – House of the Rising Sun”

    1. Yea it’s in the Louie Louie class…it’s one of the first songs I’ve learned…I’ll be by to see your Buddy Holly posts this weekend!

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    1. I agree…I think also, for the most part, they would have made more if they would have stayed together. Chandler was probably the most successful other than Burdon by managing Hendrix and other artists.

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      1. The House of the Rising Sun is probably just a generic place of ill repute.  One theory is that the brothel was located on St. Louis Street and it was owned by a madam Marianne Le Soleil Levant (whose name in French means ‘The Rising Sun’), but there are no historical records to back this up, however this brothel supposedly opened in 1862 when Union Troops occupied the town and closed in 1874 when the town received too many complaints by neighbors.

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      2. Yea that is where I think it came from if I had to answer…..the other theory was a women’s prison that had rising sun artwork on the gate in New Orleans…that would explain the ball and chain lyric but I still think it’s a brothel.

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  4. Pingback: Animals – House of the Rising Sun – MobsterTiger

  7. great song… it would fit Randy’s topic for today too, covers that were better than the original (or in this case better than any predecessors since the original is hard to determine)

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    1. Yes…it is. Bob Dylan’s version is the one that inspired this…I should have put that in there…but so many covered it.

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  10. I’ve always loved this, and it’s astonishing now to remember how young Eric Burdon was then.

    Apparently the original was from 1933, but I’m not convinced! And – to me – it actually sounds like it should be sung by a woman. (There have been some later version sung by women, including Joni Mitchell and, I think, Nina Simone.)

    But anyway:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Ws1QXQvk8

    I do think it’s about a brothel, not a prison, and ss for the ‘ball and chain’ line, I think it’s just a metaphor for someone who can’t get away and carries a heavy burden.

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    1. I love those old recordings like that…it sounds kinda creepy in a great way! Yea I think it’s a brothel as well…it makes more sense.

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      2. I’ll check it out…I love that sound and it’s hard to replicate.
        I have some time right now at work…I’m updating my A-Z song list… which is a pain…I’m going to write a script that will do that for me. I’m still in Feb….I started in November.

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      3. Oh dear, that’s a task and a half. There used to be a shortcode to do it automatically but I think that’s now for premium accounts – you might have access to it, though.

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      4. I finished it at work yesterday so I’m up to date except today! It took me 2 solid hours…I was seeing double at the end of it. I’m going to ask AI to write the script

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    2. I think it works well for a man or a woman. Maybe better for a woman, but either could ruin their life by spending it in a brothel. And either could be influenced by a drunkard and gambler for a father, who likely spent his winnings, when he had them, on booze and sex.

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      1. Mmm… at the time the original was probably written, I’d guess that women (girls, really) would have had a worse experience than men. But – not being a man, I wouldn’t really know… (And yes, certainly a father with those problems would affect either a daughter or son.

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  13. So as a follow up to an earlier post about first songs that stuck with us. Along came music like this and shifted my listening habits to a more ______ (Fill in the blank for me Max) sound. A couple of these old gems , I include Light My Fire, let the organ take the lead. Is it deKE that cant get enough of the sound?

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    1. Gritty! I think of that word when I think of your music tastes…hope that fits for you.
      Oh yea…he LOVES the organ…always wants more lol.

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  14. I got to see them live back in the mid-sixties. They were part of Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars and played in Memphis, TN. They owned the entire show, and the other acts never had a chance.

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    1. Yes I do like the original band to 1966 the best…their later stuff is different…but I still like it…it’s just not as tough.

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  17. It’s understandable why it’s one of the most recognisable tunes (Animals version) in popular music. It is nothing short of iconic and all the legends it went through to finally get to them. I like that ‘Most dangerous sounding band’ description hehe.

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  18. Back in the 1970s, there was an AM radio station in my hometown, Brazil, Curitiba, called Atalia (watchman in English). They used to play all sorts of music, including classic rock (not classic at the time), and this song was a daily one. As a kid, I became a fan of The Animals, just like you.

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  19. Boy Max, talk about getting a 45 that is a Monster double A side of a disc. THE version of ‘House’ that everyone else aspires to, plus THE best cover of a great Sam Cooke song (IMHO) I’ve heard.

    Alan Price had a nice career too. I love the soundtrack he did for a very Brit flick called ‘O Lucky Man,’ with Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren. (There’s a jump scare in that that will have you jumping out a window- I guarantee it! Comedy/Fantasy my ass!)

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      2. Well what is the sense of it then LOL…I will give it a looksy. I’ve watched Once Upon a Time already…so I’ll be writing about that soon. And this weekend…you will be seeing your brother’s pick.

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    2. Wow…That sir…will take me days to think about. One of the strangest movies I’ve seen. I liked it! Just one adventure after the other. Yea…when he pulled that cover back…that was freaky beyond freaky. I was not expecting that! I saw some of the points of the movie…at first he would do anything for money…then he was humbled a bit…but at the end…of course human nature took over and he was back really where he started.

      It’s always nice to see Helen Mirren…any chance I get I will. Wow… I’ll be thinking of this movie for days! Thanks Obbverse…I think…LOL no I mean it. That was an experience…I love these kind of far out movies.

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      1. Oh, it is quite something as a movie. My girlfriend at the time (then wife, and still long suffering wife, amazingly!) staggered out of the Odeon and felt like our brains had been put through an industrial sized washing machine. I may have inferred it it ain’t no picnic though.

        The two scenes that really kicked me are the ‘Jump out the window’ one and the one right at the end where he has to 😑🙂 smile. Also I love the way the ironic ‘O Lucky Man’ song kicks in hard at the end when the celebrations start.

        (Sorry I’m late replying, we had an overnight stay which lasted a little longer than usual.)

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      2. Yes…that smile to me signaled he was back to where he started…but yes…my head is still buzzing. I watched parts of it again today just to make sure I saw what I saw. I thought about posting it…but no way. I couldn’t tell you the plot because its just one instance after another. I started to read what other people said…and they are just as confused as I am….I think it means what you want it to mean…and yea…I feel in love with Helen….again.
        The part about pulling back the sheet…I did not expect that at all.
        You know…the movie tips it’s cap to A Clockwork Orange in a few scenes. It’s a lot to process but I will watch it again. I can’t thank you enough.
        Thats fine obbverse…as late as I’ve been to your blog lol. Days.

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      3. Yes it is a twisted and odd watch.

        For me the smile is a hard won one. Compared to his happily naive smile when he’s at the coffee factory to having to having to be cajoled into curling his lip into a smile at the end… he’s lived and learned an (awful) lot in between.

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      4. Ok I get that…completely. Something else to think about. I like that better. Oh yea he learned a lot lol. Sorry for rambling but you can’t talk about this movie to anyone who hasn’t seen it…just no way.

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  20. Really good write-up, Max. The fangs and the crawling bring it to life. I do remember this song was set apart from others in its theme and its sound. You also know I’m a mega fan of Eric Burdon’s voice.

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    1. Yea his voice was/is fanastic…him and Daltry has a voice close to each other….that growl.
      I’m reviewing a Who album next weekend or next Friday I want you to check out. It’s pre-Tommy material.

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  22. “The House of the Rising Sun” was the first song by The Animals I recall hearing. I loved it from the get-go. It’s quite possible I first heard it on the Sunday night oldies radio show by recently deceased German radio and TV host Frank Laufenberg. The B-side of the single also sounds mighty sweet.

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    1. A good memory man… the greatest gift music gives us is memories and they are usually mark occasions…and Laufenberg supplied them to you. Oh yea…the B side is my favorite version of that song.

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  23. This song freaked me out and kinda still does.. lol. I remember my daughter had this on her playlist years ago and I was like “where did you hear this?” and she said when they were in gym class one day playing basketball, one of the guys had it blasting out loud lol…. I was like “wow” lol

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    1. LOL…that is awesome! Bailey’s group of friends plays Hendrix, Who, Beatles, and 80s music…they say older music is better than what they have…and I agree lol..

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