Go tell my baby sister never do like I have done...

April 4, 2005 2:34 AM

There is a house in New Orleans... A recent archeological excavation in the French Quarter reveals that a hotel called the "Rising Sun" operating in the early 1800s may have been the ruin of many a poor girl. Clues include suggestive newspaper ads from the period and artifacts such as "a large number of liquor bottles... Alongside... an unusually dense collection of rouge pots". [more...]
posted by taz (34 comments total)

Especially interesting is the fact that had it not been the Historic New Orleans Collection to purchase the property (a parking garage), the site study that literally unearthed this fascinating new information would never have been undertaken. The article quoted here (mirror of this Times-Picayune story) indicates that in addition to the new "Rising Sun" material, the dig has also turned up unexpected evidence of a possible earlier American Indian settlement. No pics to be found yet, but if you look on this page, at the second (Magic Bus) image, you will find a near neighbor to what may have been the most popular brothel in musicology.
posted by taz at 2:36 AM on April 4, 2005

So the house they point to in the carriage tours with the rising sun ironwork is just a fake? I feel so ripped off!!!!
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 2:48 AM on April 4, 2005

Lots of places in New Orleans want to lay claim to being The House, but we will actually never know if there was a real and specific location that is being referred to in the song because it could be purely an imaginary reference, and because "Rising Sun" was a common name, and of course, because it's difficult to prove that any particular place was actually a bordello unless there are fairly explicit photos or references in letters, journals, etc.

Evidence may fairly prove here that there was an establishment here called the "Rising Sun" and that it was probably a whorehouse, and that will be valuable information — but, of course, it can never prove that it is precisely the place the original lyricist was writing about.

By the way, on a personal note... I *heart* the Historic New Orleans Collection. Not only did I do a fair amount of research there when I lived in New Orleans, my antique engagement ring was purchased from their gift shop.
posted by taz at 3:12 AM on April 4, 2005

Neat article.

I'm very fond of Woody Guthrie, but I usually skip his version of the song. Not his best vocal work.
posted by Mayor Curley at 3:41 AM on April 4, 2005

I thought house of the rising sun was a reference to being homeless ...you know , the stars for a blanket , that sort of thing.
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:55 AM on April 4, 2005

What a great post! I love the notion that the past is always around (and beneath) us.

Also, not to quibble, but the Animals were not "Burdon's band." Burdon was the Animals' vocalist and an awesome talent, but the band was indisputably Alan Price's creation.
posted by 327.ca at 4:12 AM on April 4, 2005

Chas Chandler's surely?
posted by the cuban at 4:40 AM on April 4, 2005

also of interest: the origins of "st james infirmary".
posted by pxe2000 at 4:56 AM on April 4, 2005

and...the "Sisters of Mercy" and the "The Magdalene Laundries" as well... Mefits seem to love discussions like this.....
posted by HuronBob at 5:19 AM on April 4, 2005

I love stuff like this
posted by Toecutter at 5:50 AM on April 4, 2005

This is so weird: I was fooling around on my guitar yesterday afternoon playing whatever song came to mind one after the other, and I finished with "House of the Rising Sun."
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:28 AM on April 4, 2005

Also, not to quibble, but the Animals were not "Burdon's band." Burdon was the Animals' vocalist and an awesome talent, but the band was indisputably Alan Price's creation.

Yeah, but without Burdon, the Animals were basically a better than average Brit R&B outfit. With him, they were something of a different order entirely. If Burdon had ever managed to become much of a songwriter, the results would've been incredible, since he far exceeds Lennon, Jagger and the rest of the British Invasion crew in terms of sheer vocal ability.
posted by jonmc at 6:52 AM on April 4, 2005

Yeah, but without Burdon, the Animals were basically a better than average Brit R&B outfit. With him, they were something of a different order entirely. If Burdon had ever managed to become much of a songwriter, the results would've been incredible, since he far exceeds Lennon, Jagger and the rest of the British Invasion crew in terms of sheer vocal ability.

Yeah, I'd agree with that. I still get shivers listening to his version of "I Put a Spell on You." But recently I've started listening to Alan Price's solo work and, although he's not as bluesy as Burdon, he is remarkable and continues to grow musically long after his stint in the Animals. The songs he wrote for "O Lucky Man!" are (for me) unforgettable.

Anyway...sorry for the derail. Back to the real House of the Rising Sun!
posted by 327.ca at 7:19 AM on April 4, 2005

Only because the link made it jump immediately to mind: ...not the one you've heard about. I'm talking about another house.
posted by themadjuggler at 7:38 AM on April 4, 2005

Really interesting and a good post!
posted by fenriq at 8:12 AM on April 4, 2005

Good post.

Most versions of the song, though, say the house is the ruin of many a poor boy.
posted by Miko at 8:28 AM on April 4, 2005

Great Post Taz!
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 8:30 AM on April 4, 2005

Follow-up to my previous post: There are really an astounding variety of lyrical versions of the song. In Lomax's field recording, it's "poor girl", but in many other versions, it's "poor boy". Some versions are told from the point of view of a woman employed in the brothel, others from the point of view of a man financially and morally ruined by his involvement in a life of sin. Although written lyrics can be traced to a single source, the song has become a truly traditional one very quickly, in that multiple permutations quickly came into being, and in that ancient themes, borrowings from other ballad sources, and evergreen ideas have adhered to it. An interesting study...thanks, Straight Dope.
posted by Miko at 8:36 AM on April 4, 2005

You may be interested in something I found while writing this up on my blog a couple weeks ago: 250 MP3 recordings of the song, by artists from 101 Strings to Zeeza (?). It was slow when I found it, so a wave of Metafilter readers may make it positively glacial or 404 -- consider yourself warned.

Miko: There are many versions. The earliest was told from a girl's standpoint. It's my understanding that The Animals changed it to a boy and a gambling house because the original version wouldn't have been played on the radio.

On preview: Ah, you did some digging yourself.
posted by pmurray63 at 8:38 AM on April 4, 2005

miko, I think in those unenlightened days the whorehouses were seen as a scourge upon those who frequented them (disease, etc.) and people weren't so concerned with those who worked there.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 8:44 AM on April 4, 2005

Whoops, I'm a couple beats behind.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 8:45 AM on April 4, 2005

Excellent post. I loves me some NOLA history.
posted by me3dia at 8:51 AM on April 4, 2005

Did I miss were it says they found a sign or something saying "House of the Rising Sun"? There were a whole lot of whorehouses in New Orleans at that time, how do we know that this is that particular house.
posted by Suparnova at 8:52 AM on April 4, 2005

Now I want to sing House of the Rising Sun with a group of people (possibly while drunk?).
posted by Hildago at 9:05 AM on April 4, 2005

That's an amazing page, pmurray63, and it answered something I've been wondering about... A lot of sites say that Texas Alexander was the first to record the song, but the song included in this collection as "The Risin' Sun" is actually a different tune. I'd really like to hear that original field recording from Lomax.

Suparnova, take a look around the seventh paragraph of the first linked article... They found a newspaper ad referring to it by that name, and suggesting the nature of the establishment.
posted by taz at 9:14 AM on April 4, 2005

Yes, but does it doesn't say in the article wether or not it says the address in the ad. The author might have left it out, but if I were writing it I would make sure to mention it.
posted by Suparnova at 9:40 AM on April 4, 2005

A lot of sites say that Texas Alexander was the first to record the song, but the song included in this collection as "The Risin' Sun" is actually a different tune.

Folk songs tend to change as they spread. Lomax learned the song from an appalachian woman, so assuming that "House of the Rising Sun" really did originate in New Orleans, there could be a very different-sounding ancestor to both of the appalchian and texas versions. Tunes tend to get changed radically, often stolen from other songs that a prolific performer knew. For instance, I know of three different versions of "Beans Bacon and Gravy." One of them is sung to the tune of "Goodnight, Irene" (but that's usually an indicator of Woody Guthrie's influence).

Of course, it's just as likely the the "Rising Sun" in question is a cautionary tale based on fiction and originating in Appalachia.
posted by Mayor Curley at 9:45 AM on April 4, 2005

Hidalgo: I wish to sing in a drunken state as well...perhaps at a house of ill repute?

*sigh*
posted by schyler523 at 10:22 AM on April 4, 2005

HuronBob, your link doesn't work. This one should be better.
posted by orange swan at 11:23 AM on April 4, 2005

Frankly worth a FP: several hundred "bawdy" songs, including at least one with a Rising Sun reference.

(my god! it's full of holes!)
posted by mwhybark at 5:47 PM on April 4, 2005

pmurray63: Thank you for the awesome link!
posted by honeydew at 10:32 PM on April 4, 2005

sex, liquor, history, music, archeology - this post has it all. Yay, taz - great post, great thread. Thanks.
posted by madamjujujive at 4:03 AM on April 5, 2005

Why, thank you, sweet mjj!

mwhybark, that is an amazing (and amusing) collection.
posted by taz at 8:41 AM on April 5, 2005

The 5 Blind Boys of Alabama do a version of "Amazing Grace" that takes the lyrics of "Grace" and sets them to the tune of "Rising Sun"...completely cool.
posted by tristeza at 1:34 PM on April 8, 2005