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31 Mar 05 - 11:08 AM (#1447951) Subject: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Anglo I'm trying to find a set of lyrics for Leadbelly's version of "House of the Rising Sun," a.k.a. "Way Down in New Orleans." That one specifically. There are other versions all over the place including the DT, but I can't find this one. And it's not in my Leadbelly songbook. |
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31 Mar 05 - 12:15 PM (#1448007) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: GUEST,Lutz Eikelmann I think it was not in Ledbelly´s repertory, it was Josh White who did it first, wasn´t it? On Saturday I will ask our trumpet player for the lyrics of WAY DOWN YONDER IN NEW ORLEANS. He sings it regulary so he knows. I know only a few parts of it by memory now. |
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31 Mar 05 - 12:29 PM (#1448018) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Steve-o No, actually Leadbelly's version was called "In New Orleans", and it is surely one of the earliest recorded versions of "House of the Rising Sun", as Anglo stated. I have it on an old "Stinson" label vinyl, and it features some of his most amazing twelve-string playing. It is essentially the same lyrics as the well-known versions, but the melody is completely different. Example: Verse 1 is "Way down in New Orleans, House called the Rising Sun, Been the ruin of many a poor girl, And me oh God for one" (repeat). Maybe you should also check the former threads on this song- I think there was some discussion of it a while back. |
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31 Mar 05 - 03:40 PM (#1448217) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Anglo Yes Steve-o, thanks for the reply. I found the earlier discussion (even noticed your name there), but no lyrics. That's how I remembered the first verse, as you give it above. I thought the other verses were roughly about the same as the "regular" version, and you have confirmed that. Close enough for folk music. Many thanks. |
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01 Apr 05 - 08:21 AM (#1448912) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Roger the Skiffler A version of H of the RS is on "Leadbelly's last sessions" CDs on Folkways. RtS |
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01 Apr 05 - 08:24 AM (#1448915) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Roger the Skiffler Track 11 disk 4 in fact: Audio CD (July 26, 2004) Label: Smithsonian Folkways Catalogue Number: SFWCD400687 RtS |
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15 Jun 05 - 02:13 AM (#1501293) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: GUEST,kirk@oregonwebdesign.com SDSTAFF Songbird replies: Listening to all those lyrics about balls and chains, Jo, you'd probably think there was some pretty strange stuff going on in "The House of the Rising Sun." And you'd be right. Back in the early 20s, the name "Rising Sun" was popularly attributed to brothels in our Anglo/American culture. The traditional version of "The House of the Rising Sun" speaks, not of a boy's experience, but of a girl corrupted into a life of ruin. Your confusion probably starts with the fact that the Animals did not write "The House of the Rising Sun." (If you look at the really small print on their 1966 album, The Best of the Animals, you'll find that it was only arranged by Burdon/Chandler/Price/Steele/Valentine.) According to folklorist Alan Lomax in his book Our Singing Country (1941), the melody of "The House of the Rising Run" is a traditional English ballad and the lyrics were written by Georgia Turner and Bert Martin (both from Kentucky). The song was first recorded in the 1920s by black bluesman Texas Alexander and later covered by Leadbelly, Charlie Byrd, Roy Acuff, Woody Guthrie, the Weavers, Peter, Paul & Mary, Henry Mancini, Dolly Parton, David Allan Coe, John Fahey, Waylon Jennings, Tim Hardin, Buster Poindexter, Marianne Faithful, Tracy Chapman and Bob Dylan . . . just to name a few. Here from Lomax's book are the traditional lyrics : There is a house in New Orleans They call the Rising Sun. It's been the ruin of many a poor girl, And me, O God, for one. If I had listened what Mamma said, I'd 'a' been at home today. Being so young and foolish, poor boy, Let a rambler lead me astray. Go tell my baby sister Never do like I have done To shun that house in New Orleans They call the Rising Sun. My mother she's a tailor; She sold those new blue jeans. My sweetheart, he's a drunkard, Lord, Lord, Drinks down in New Orleans. The only thing a drunkard needs Is a suitcase and a trunk. The only time he's satisfied Is when he's on a drunk. Fills his glasses to the brim, Passes them around Only pleasure he gets out of life Is hoboin' from town to town. One foot is on the platform And the other one on the train. I'm going back to New Orleans To wear that ball and chain. Going back to New Orleans, My race is almost run. Going back to spend the rest of my days Beneath that Rising Sun. Did the House of the Rising Sun ever really exist? A guidebook called Offbeat New Orleans asserts that the real House of the Rising Sun was at 826-830 St. Louis St. between 1862 and 1874 and was purportedly named for its madam, Marianne LeSoleil Levant, whose surname translates to "The Rising Sun." But no one knows for certain. When the Animals made the song popular in the 60s, Eric Burdon was overwhelmed by the theories: "People would come up to me and say, ''You want to know where the real House of the Rising Sun is?' And I'd say, 'I've heard that one before.' Then I started going along for the ride. I'd go to women's prisons, coke dealers' houses, insane asylums, men's prisons, private parties. They just wanted to get me there." Then, with a laugh, he adds, "They're trying to build up tourism, and here's this Brit singing about a whorehouse." This from http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mrisingson.htm |
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15 Jun 05 - 07:50 AM (#1501464) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: GUEST,belfast, sans cookie The Animals got their version from Dylan's first album. Dylan got it from Dave Van Ronk who got it from ...? In fact got about half the material for his first album from DVR. The Leadbelly version, melodically speaking, is quite different. Almost like a ragtime tune. Great fun as a guitar piece. |
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15 Jun 05 - 10:27 AM (#1501592) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: jeffp Thank you Kirk and Belfast for that information on the House of the Rising Sun. I have written some new words for it inspired by my wife's Oncologist (The House of the Dying Tumor) and was wondering about copyright on the melody. Jeff |
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15 Jun 05 - 12:50 PM (#1501699) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: PoppaGator Belfast is right about the chronology of 1960s versions of this song. Dave Van Ronk tells the story in his recent (posthumous) book "Mayor of MacDougall Street": Dylan was recording his first album when he ran into Dave and asked if it was OK for him to cut a rendition of Dave's arrangement of the song. Dave responded that he wished he wouldn't, since he planned to record it himself soon. Bob starts stammering and getting all evasive, then admits that he had already recorded the song earlier that day. That seems to have been the beginning or the end of the two men's friendship. For a few years afterwords, DVR would constantly be irritated when audiences would refer to his vocal and guitar performance/arrangement as "that Dylan song." Another couple of years later, though, he enjoyed a sort of revenge when The Bob had to endure a similar experience as the public identified his cover of "Rising Sun" as "that Animals song." Minor thread drift: A fairly recent development, surprising to me, was the Blind Boys of Alabama's recording of the lyrics to "Amazing Grace" to the familiar "House of the Rising Sun" melody as sung by Dave, Bob, and Eric Burden. Further drift: jeffp, glad to hear that the tumor was a dying one. |
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15 Jun 05 - 01:02 PM (#1501703) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: jeffp Thanks, PG. The latest scan was clear. She has one more round of chemo starting Friday. Two weeks and that's it. She'll have another scan sometime in July and we'll go on from there. She's got (had?) a rare one so there's not much to go on prediction-wise. The doctor is pretty confident though. One day at a time. Jeff |
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15 Jun 05 - 03:51 PM (#1501827) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Q (Frank Staplin) The Lomaxes did not say that Georgia Turner and Bert Morton wrote the lyrics to "The Rising Sun Blues." They collected versions of the lyrics in 1937 from Turner and from Morton (no date given), John A. and Alan Lomax, 1941, "Our Singing Country," pp. 368-369, with music (arranger not noted). See thread 8592 for a listing of early recordings (posted by Stewie) and a version by Clarence Ashley, some pre-1937. Origin Rising Sun The Weavers version is in the DT. Returning to the topic of this thread, has anyone posted the Lead Belly lyrics at Mudcat? (Ahem, Roger? Anyone?) |
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16 Jun 05 - 12:54 PM (#1502297) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: 12-stringer 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. |
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16 Jun 05 - 04:06 PM (#1502442) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Q (Frank Staplin) Thanks for posting this. Anglo started this thread by asking for this lyric. |
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05 Jul 05 - 10:46 AM (#1515357) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: GUEST,paullynch did jim morrison or the doors never record this song? |
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25 Nov 05 - 08:14 PM (#1613874) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: GUEST,spic yes, they did, nothing as unique and powerful as the leadbelly version though. |
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25 Nov 05 - 09:07 PM (#1613890) Subject: ADD Version: House of the Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Joe Offer Here's another version attributed to Leadbelly, from The Leadbelly Songbook, edited by Moses Asch and Alan Lomax (Oak Publications, 1962) House of the Rising Sun Words and music by Huddie Ledbetter Collected and adapted by John A. Lomax & Alan Lomax There is a house in New Orleans They call the Rising Sun It's been the ruin of many poor girl And me, oh God, were one. If I had done like mama said, I wouldn't be here today, But being so young and foolish, Let a gambler lead me astray. Go tell my baby sister, Don't do like I have done. Please shun that house in New Orleans They call the Rising Sun. I'm going back to New Orleans, My race is almost run. I'm going back to New Orleans, To live in that Rising Sun. Note that the tune is quite different from many versions: Click to playI'm not convinced that this is the definitive Leadbelly version. As stated above, he recorded the song on the "Last Sessions" album (which I haven't heard). Any other recordings? 12-Stringer, any idea where your version came from? |
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17 Feb 06 - 05:53 PM (#1671447) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: GUEST,Fritz Åke Malmström. Hi, From the guest, I guess! So to speak! Can somebody or anybody put guitar chords in the song "Rising Sun" ** In the famous Leadbelly's version of the song! * Somebody must show their hands I guess it's must be up to me, I can hear somebody say out there somewhere! From the guest! |
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18 Feb 06 - 12:25 PM (#1671996) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Mark Ross Van Ronk told me that he learned the song from Hally wood. Mark Ross |
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25 Feb 07 - 09:20 AM (#1978780) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: GUEST,Jason What Album From "The Doors" Has The Song "House Of The Rising Sun" Performed On It? |
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20 Sep 07 - 01:23 AM (#2153212) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: GUEST that's defititly not the leadbelly version! |
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20 Sep 07 - 02:15 AM (#2153227) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Joe Offer It's my understanding that Leadbelly recorded two very different versions, but I haven't heard them. I know there's one on the "Last Sessions" album - any other recordings? -Joe- |
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20 Sep 07 - 02:50 PM (#2153633) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: 12-stringer Yes, Leadbelly apparently did the song twice, in radically different versions. I haven't heard the one on "Last Sessions" either, though to judge from the Oak "Leadbelly Songbook," it seems to be a fairly straight cover of, and learned directly or indirectly from, the 1937 Lomax field recording made in eastern KY. (Woody Guthrie did a fairly similar cover.) The much more interesting Leadbelly version was recorded for Musicraft on 17 February 1944, in New York, as part of an 8-song session. It was released on 78 as "In New Orleans" and seems to be so titled on all of the subsequent LP and CD reissues. Lyrics are fragmentary, even by HRS standards, and the song's principal interest lies in its wonderful guitar arrangement, one of the best Leadbelly ever recorded. It's the guitar line that has led to numerous 'Cat threads on the song. For the record, the lyrics are, again, In New Orleans (House of the Rising Sun) (re)composed by Huddie Ledbetter '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. '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. Shun that little ole house in New Orleans They call the Rising Sun. Go tell my baby sister Not to do like I have done. Shun that little ole house in New Orleans They call the Rising Sun. I'm going back to New Orleans My race is almost run. I'm going back to spend the rest of my life Beneath that Rising Sun. I'm going back to New Orleans My race is almost run. I'm going back to spend the rest of my life Beneath that Rising Sun. |
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20 Sep 07 - 03:26 PM (#2153672) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Q (Frank Staplin) Last Sessions recording the only one I could find. Not in 'Complete' set (through 1946 by Document vol. 1-3, 5). Could have been more than one take for the Last Sessions. Not in JSP boxed set (1934-1949, but not including Last Sessions). Did not check the single cd albums |
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01 Oct 07 - 09:48 PM (#2161559) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Q (Frank Staplin) The version on "Lead Belly's Last Sessions" is identical to that posted by Joe Offer, above (disc 4, track 11). |
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01 Oct 07 - 11:03 PM (#2161598) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rising Sun (Leadbelly) From: Q (Frank Staplin) The recording of "In New Orleans" cited by 12-stringer is now on a cd titled Lead Belly "Absolutely the Best." Varese Sarabande label, issued in 2000. |