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 . My mother was a tailor She sewed my new blue jeans My father was a gambling man Down in New Orleans . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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