As a traditional folk song recorded by an electric rock band, it has been described as the 'first folk rock hit'. The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by the British rock band The Animals, was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and in the US and Canada. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate. It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans.

' The House of the Rising Sun' is a traditional folk song, sometimes called ' Rising Sun Blues'. For other uses, see The House of the Rising Sun (disambiguation).