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Like many classic folk , the of "The House of the Rising Sun", sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues", is dubious. Folklorist , author of the seminal songbook , wrote that the melody was taken from a traditional ballad and the lyrics written by a pair of named Georgia Turner and Bert Martin.

Other scholars have proposed different explanations, although Lomax's is generally considered most plausible. The phrase "House of the Rising Sun" is a for a , but it is not known whether or not the house described in the lyrics was an actual or fictitious place.
The oldest known existing recording is by and and was released in .

Ashley thought he had learned it from his grandfather, Enoch Ashley. 's "The Risin' Sun", which was recorded in 1928, is sometimes mentioned as the first recording, but this is a completely different song. , who recorded the song commercially on , , may have learned this number from such neighboring artists as versatile entertainer Clarence Ashley or the , an influential duet team of the '30s and '40s.

Many artists have the song, and it has been a standard cover for at least four decades by bar bands and major recording artists alike. In an interview by in his , folksinger recounted that he had originally worked out the arrangement that Dylan then "borrowed" for his first album, and which was subsequently borrowed in turn by , who, in , took the song to newfound popularity when it was recorded by his British rock group . The Animals' version (which was arranged by the whole band but accidentally only credited to their keyboard player ) has become a staple of oldies and .

An interview with Eric Burdon revealed that the Animals heard Josh White perform "House" in in the early 60's, and decided to cover it. In 1969 released a particularly well-known version. Even created their own rendition.

The of the singer is flexible. Earlier versions of the song are often sung from the female perspective, a woman who followed a drunk or a to and became a in the House of the Rising Sun (or, depending on one's interpretation, an inmate in a prison of the same name), such as in 's version on her self-titled 1960 debut album. The Animals version was sung from a perspective of a male, warning about gambling and drinking.

Shawn Mullins' recent covered version on his album " Pickin' Parlor" is sung from the female perspective.
Various places in have been proposed as the inspiration for the song, with varying plausibility. Only two candidates have historical documentation as using the name "Rising Sun"; both having listings in old period city directories.

The first was a small short-lived on Conti Street in the in the . An excavation and document search in early 2005 supporting this claim, including an advertisement with language that may have euphemistically indicated prostitution. The second was a late "Rising Sun Hall" on the riverfront of the uptown , which seems to have been a building owned and used for meetings of a Social Aid Pleasure Club, commonly rented out for dances and functions.

Definite links to gambling or prostitution, if any, are undocumented for either of these buildings, neither of which still exists.
It is possible that the "House of the Rising Sun" is a metaphor for either the slave pens of the , the plantation house, or the plantation itself, which were the subjects and themes of many traditional blues songs. Dave van Ronk claimed in his autobiography that he had seen pictures of the old , the entrance to which was decorated with a rising sun design.

He considered this proof that the House of the Rising Sun had been a nickname for the prison.
The traditional lyric, as recorded by Lomax, is as follows:
It's been the ruin of many a poor girl, And me, O God, for one. If I had listened what Mamma said, Being so young and foolish, poor boy, Let a rambler lead me astray.

They call the Rising Sun. My sweetheart, he's a drunkard, Lord, Lord, Drinks down in New Orleans. Is when he's on a drug.

Fills his glasses to the brim, Is hoboin' from town to town.

Was featured in a commercial.

This is the title of one particular episode of , but the lyrics' relevance to the plot of the episode is open to interpretation, though the episode focused on Sun, a Korean woman.

In 's biopic , states that Dylan took his (Van Ronk's) coffee house version of the song and recorded it without his permission on Dylan's first album on . then took Dylan's recorded version and arranged for his electric band, The Animals, and enjoyed a significant hit with the song, much to Dylan's chagrin (and to Van Ronk's ironic sense of justice). Dave Van Ronk went on record as saying that the whole issue was a "tempest in a teapot", and that Dylan stopped playing the song after The Animals' hit because fans accused Dylan of plagiarizing Burdon's version.

Another source claims that are said to have learned this song from , who recorded it two years before Dylan's version. Bob Dylan has said he first heard The Animals' version on his car radio and "jumped out of his car seat" because he liked it so much.

The song has the same rhyme scheme as " ", and is occasionally performed live with those lyrics.

The song is written in traditional ballad stanzas, as is "Amazing Grace".

In August of while police were investigating the murders of five college students in , , they came across a campsite containing a tape recording of a song set to the music of "House of the Rising Sun", but with different lyrics. It was recorded by , who was later charged and convicted in the killings.

Rock groups and included the opening lines of the song in their track " ", played during the first game at the New Orleans Superdome in October, 2006. However, the opening lines were edited slightly. Instead of 'There is a house in New Orleans they call the Rising Sun', they changed it to 'There is a house in New Orleans they call the '.

They later released a video of the song, shorter than normal and with the traditional lyrics. It included videos from , referring to how the song has in its lyrics: "House in New Orleans."

Independent wrestler started using The Animals' version as his entrance music beginning in late 2006, introduced by the quote "Shall we begin like David Copperfield?

I am born, I grew up...

or shall we begin when I was born into darkness?" from .