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 sewed my new blue jeans my father was a gamblin man down in new orleans now the only thing a gambler needs is a suitcase and a trunk and the only time that he s 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 ve got one foot on the platform and the other foot on the train i m going 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 young poor boy and god i know i m one