“The House of the Rising Sun” is an iconic song that serves as a warning about life in New Orleans gone awry, making its debut by Eric Burdon and the Animals in 1964 but having long been part of folk music repertoire for decades prior.
What distinguishes this song is its dynamic use of modal switching, employing chords from various minor scales to create an intriguing song.
Chords
The Animals first recorded this song in 1964, though its melody had already become an established folk classic at that point. Sung by Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan among others, musicologist Alan Lomax couldn’t pinpoint its source; nonetheless it had been around for quite some time.
Once mastered, the chords in this song can become an invaluable asset in your repertoire. They feature mostly open and first position chords – with one exception of an E chord which features an F fretted with full bar in a descending bass pattern.
This song provides an excellent example of modal interchange, where chords and notes from different modes of the same scale come together in harmony. Additionally, this can help build up muscle memory; try fretting each chord without strumming first before adding one strum per chord to add nineths.
Tablature
This guitar lesson for “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals will help your rock guitar skills advance while captivating any audience. This song offers great challenges as a step toward progress, yet is sure to capture their attention!
The song’s origins remain somewhat obscure; however, many believe that its lyrics depict an actual brothel or gambling house in New Orleans as the House of the Rising Sun is featured prominently within them. The song describes an unfortunate woman whose life has been turned upside-down because of this establishment.
Lead Belly first recorded this song in 1944, and Eric Burdon made it famous when recording with The Animals in 1964. Since then, it has become an international folk standard and been covered by many artists; this version features chords from both A natural minor and A harmonic minor (by raising G# 7th note for change) as well as an open D major chord in A minor key.
Lyrics
The House of the Rising Sun is an iconic folk song covered by various musicians across genres. Although its author remains unknown, its roots can be found in traditional English folk music. The song has multiple verses with differing lyrics that may refer to personal misfortunes or an annal of brothels in New Orleans depending on which version is performed.
The Animals made this song famous when they introduced its rock rhythm. Since then, its version has become a classic of folk and blues music, becoming an all-time classic. The Animals’ version was the first version to incorporate rock rhythms, while its lyrics describe “The House of the Rising Sun,” thought by many to refer to brothels or gambling houses in New Orleans. Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan both covered this tune at various points throughout their careers.
Video
House of the Rising Sun is an iconic guitar classic and will help hone your playing. The melody is easy for beginners to pick up, while chords can be played easily across any instrument. There are numerous versions of this folk song, most famously that by The Animals.
Origins of this song remain unclear, though its inspiration could have come from a brothel or gambling house in New Orleans – however there is no proof to support this theory. One popular rendition is by The Animals who released it as an album in 1964 which quickly became a hit both here and abroad.
This song is composed in 6/8 time, which means there are six eighth notes per bar counted “one, two, three… five six”. Additionally, its key of A minor shifts between natural minor and A harmonic minor due to an E major chord being used as its chord progression.