When I was twelve or thirteen my family and I visited New Orleans. We stayed in a faded old relic of a place and spent a lot of time walking around the city. There’s a lot of history to be found in that town, lurking in its seedy alleys and upstairs rooms. It’s one of those places that gets name-checked in pop music all the time and a bunch of great musicians have lived and played there going back for centuries probably. Today, Alex Chilton, for instance, and I believe Ray Davies both reside in the Big Easy. Anyway, when I was there we went on a horse-and-cart tour through the streets with a local guide, and as we were nearing the end of our journey he pointed out a dilapidated building along the way that he claimed was the inspiration for the song “The House of the Rising Sun.” I was a little too young to appreciate the brief conversation he had with my parents about it, but from what I remember, the place was a brothel and it was really called the House of the Rising Son. Interesting, stuff, I know…
Anyway, here’s a version of the song by the incomparable Nina Simone. It’s a live performance from some unknown concert on the Young, Gifted, and Black compilation by Dynamic Entertainment (2003).
The House of the Rising Sun - Nina Simone
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"House of the Rising Sun" and "Go to Hell" live at the Bitter End Cafe (1968)
Yeeah...
