Leadbelly version lyrics:

'Way down in New Orleans
House called the Rising Sun
Has been the ruin of a many poor boy
And me, oh God, for one.

Go tell my baby sister
Not to do like I have done.
Please shun that little old house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun.

I'm going back to New Orleans
Cause my race is almost run.
Going back to spend the rest of my life
Beneath that Rising Sun.

The lyrics are quite sketchy, even for "Rising Sun," and the vocal portion of the song is little more than an accompaniment to Leadbelly's guitar solo work.

Each stanza is sung twice. The first time through, he works it up to a II7-V7; on the repeat, he resolves it back to I. There is a tab of the guitar part in the old "Folksinger's Guide to the 12-String Guitar as Played by Leadbelly" (by Julius Lester and Pete Seeger, from Oak in the 60s), but NB that it only tabs the first half of the guitar part. Second half is the same, except for the resolution back to I.