The House of the Rising Sun - guitar tab, notes, chords and lyrics
“The House of the Rising Sun” is a well-known folk song. Whereas its origin is not sure, the song is probably most associated with the version by The Animals. A few years before, the folk singer Dave Van Ronk did a great arrangement, which for instance Bob Dylan use when he recorded it. Playing the song on guitar, is often done by using broken chords with mainly the following progression: Am - C - D - F - Am - C - E (the last chord is depending on the version sometimes replaced or followed by E7). But the melody can, of course, also be played with the guitar. Both broken chords arrangemnet and melody are presented here, as wells as chords and lyrics.
The music transcriptions of the song with tabs and notes are available for download as PDFs. It's free for personal use only.
The House of the Rising Sun (broken chords and melody accompaniment)
"The House of the Rising Sun" for guitar with broken chords accompaniment. Free download in pdf-file and audio.
The House of the Rising Sun broken chords
"The House of the Rising Sun" for guitar with full accompaniment. Free download in pdf-file and audio.
The House of the Rising Sun guitar accompaniment
The House of the Rising Sun (only melody)
"The House of the Rising Sun" tablature notation for guitar presented as an image (full versions for only melody and with accompaniment can be downloaded as pdf).
Tips on how to learn this song
The song consists of 16 bars (the pickup bar excluded) and the first 8 are quite similar with the last 8 bars. A tip is to use the thumb four the notes on the fourth string and the fingers for the rest.
Lyrics and chords
The House of the Rising Sun chords in the key of Am
Verse 1:
There (Am)is a (C)house in (D)New Orleans(F)
They (Am)call the Ris(C)ing (E)Sun(Am)
And (Am)it's been the (C)ruin of (D)many a poor (F)boy
And (Am)God, I (E)know I'm one
Verse 2:
My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new blue jeans
My father was a gambling man
Down in New Orleans
Verse 3:
Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and a trunk
And the only time he is satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk
Verse 4:
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
Verse 5:
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
Verse 6:
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.
The House of the Rising Sun (version with alternative lyrics)
Verse 1:
There is a house down in New Orleans
They call The Risin' Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And me, oh god, I’m a-one
Verse 2:
My mother was a tailor
She sewed these new blue jeans
My sweetheart was a gambler, Lord
Down in New Orleans
Verse 3:
Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and a trunk
And the only time he's satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk
Verse 4:
He fills his glasses up to the brim
And he’ll pass the cards around
And the only pleasure he gets out of life
Is ramblin' from town to town
Verse 5:
Oh tell my baby sister
Not to do what I have done
But shun that house in New Orleans
They call The Risin' Sun
Verse 6:
Well, it's one foot on the platform
And the other foot on the train
I'm goin' back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain
Verse 7:
I'm a-goin back to New Orleans
My race is almost run
I'm goin back to end my life
Down in the Risin Sun
Verse 8:
There is a house in New Orleans
They call The Risin Sun
It's been the ruin of many poor girl
And me, oh God, I’m a-one.
This is two of the versions of the song, but other versions considering numbers of verses as well as the lyrics and chords exist. The versions done by Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Eric Burdon (Animals), for example, all deviates to certain degrees. Depending of the lyrics, the content of the song differs as well. One version song is about a young woman that tells her sad story about living in a house, perhaps a bowdyhouse, in New Orleans with the name Rising Sun. The lines "Oh, mother, tell your children / Not to do what I have done / Spend your lives in sin and misery" is of obvious sorrowful regret. In other versions, the protagonist in the song is evidently male and the problems instead centers around drinking and gambling.
The chords are the same for all verses throughout the song. The key is in A Minor, but shifting between natural minor and harmonic minor due to the E major chord.
There are possibilities to change the key by using a capo:
- Capo 1: A# / Bb minor
- Capo 2: B minor
- Capo 3: C minor
Key, time, tuning and tempo
Information about "The House of the Rising Sun" considering musical key, time signature, tuning and bpm.
Key
The (tab) version of The House of the Rising Sun is played in the key of Am.
Time signature
The song is played in 6/8 tempo (a compound time including two dotted quarter notes per measure).
Tuning
The song is normally played in standard tuning (EADGBE).
Tempo (BPM)
The tempo in beats per minute is 80 for the presented version.