[Organ and low drifted guitar only] Down in the streets of New Orleans Stands the howl-ouse of the Rising Sun It’s swallowed more than one young soul And God knows she was one Her mo-other was a tailor She sewed her new blue jeans And her lover was a gambling man Who drifted through New Orleans A gambling man don’t carry much Just cards, his booze and luck And the on-only time he comes alive Is when he’s wasted dru-unk He fills his glasses to the brim Marks the cards and deals them round And the only pleasure makes him grin Is a new lo-over downtown Oh, show her the way, Lo-ord Don’t want her doing what I’ve done Stay in the house of sin and misery A courtesan in the Rising Sun [only Organ in this bridge transition] Well, she ain’t got many dollars But enough to leave again-ain To start all over in somewhere clean Break the shackle and chain She’s heading ba-ack to New Orleans To find her Mama and take a turn Stay away and keep from ruining her life Where the red lights still burn [only organ and snap drums] There stood a place in New Orleans Beneath the shine of a rising sun It swallowed many a poor young girl And God, He knows she was one
