Back to the Rock Age —— The House of the Rising Sun

As a person who is hardly picky about music, I can't count how many singers and tracks I like, but if you really ask me, "What's your favorite song?" Intuition will definitely make me blurt out the answer-"House of the Rising Sun", which is translated into Chinese as "House of the Rising Sun" or "House of the Rising Sun".

"Rising House" used to refer to brothels in black culture, and a version of this song is also related to brothels: a girl went astray because she loved the wrong person, and later became a prostitute, regretting it, and advised other girls not to follow her own footsteps. Later, the lyrics were adapted and interpreted from a male perspective, still singing the unwillingness to fate.

This was originally a black American ballad at the end of19th century, but it is too old to determine the original author. In the past 100 years, there have been countless different versions, including (seriously, just thinking of typing the next name has already started to make my adrenaline rise rapidly):

Bob Dylan? Pink Floyd? What about animals? Eagles? Muse? Alt J? ……

The video at the beginning of the article is my favorite version, from a British rock band, The Animals, which should also be the most successful version of this song. I feel deeply moved every time I hear it.

Although the melody in A minor is easy to express sadness and lament, the interpretation of animal blues rock and the wild voice of lead singer Eric Burton make this song express stronger feelings of struggle and resistance than other versions.

The Animal Band was founded in Newcastle, England in 1963. They recorded House of the Rising Sun in the second year of the band 1964, when lead singer Eric Burton was only 23 years old.

Once the song was recorded and released, it immediately occupied the first place in the British charts in July of that year, and topped the list for three consecutive weeks two months later. This young band became an instant hit because of this song, and became one of the most important forces in the "British invasion" which had a profound influence on American pop music in the mid-1960s.

"British invasion" British invasion

Most rock music lovers should know this history: in the 1960s, there was a wave of British rock music in the United States, and a large number of British rock bands headed by the Beatles flooded into the United States and quickly conquered American musicians.

Before that, although the earliest American folk songs and rhythm and blues masters such as Leadbelly and robert johnson paved the way for rock music, and singers such as Chuck Berry, the father of rock music, and Elvis Presley, the king of rock music, began to really bring this genre into the world music history, the rock music at that time was still mixed and integrated, lacking distinct independence.

Until the early 1960s, many British pop bands, such as the Rolling Stones, Animals, The Beatles, Who, Pink Floyd and led zeppelin, gradually emerged, and redefined this music genre, which became the beginning of modern rock.

The familiar hippie movement also developed from that period. "Ignoring tradition, abandoning morality, consciously staying away from the mainstream society and having a unique lifestyle that the mainstream society can't see", hippies are undoubtedly closely related to the rock spirit. It is in this context that psychedelic rock stepped onto the historical stage, and the two promoted each other, forming the most noisy and dazzling cultural torrent of that era.

At the same time, under the impact of British rock music, American native rock music also rose rapidly. Death with Gratitude, The Beach Boy, Underground Velvet and jimi hendrix all contributed to the development of rock music.

Woodstock Music Festival? Woodstock '99

1969 In the summer, a three-day rock music festival was held in Woodstock, a small town in northern New York, with the theme of "peace, anti-war, fraternity and equality". Rock bands from all over Europe and America and more than 400,000 young hippies participated in this carnival that went down in history.

This music festival is undoubtedly iconic, and I can't describe my excitement when I mention it. If it is too long, I will write an article about this music festival in the future.

Indulgence, freedom, venting, longing,

A spiritual utopia,

It's in every dream I've never been to but want to go.

Every time I talk about rock music, the whole spirit feels extremely exciting. Although the song "The House of the Rising Sun" itself is only a small corner in the history of rock music, behind it is the whole rebellious era, forever young people.

Attachment: Comparison of English Lyrics in Rising Sun House

There is a house in New Orleans.

There is a room in New Orleans.

They call it the rising sun

People call it a "rising house"

It destroyed many poor boys.

Many poor children ruined their lives here.

God, I know I'm a

God, I'm one of them.

My mother is a tailor.

My mother is a tailor.

She sewed my new blue jeans.

She sewed my new jeans.

My father is a gambler.

My father is a gambler.

In New Orleans.

In the south of New Orleans.

The only thing a gambler needs now

Now, the only thing this gambler needs

It's a suitcase and suitcase

It's luggage and boxes.

The only time he's satisfied

The only time he feels satisfied

Is when he's drunk

It was when he was drunk.

Oh, mom, tell your children.

Oh! Mom, tell the children.

Don't do what I did.

Don't follow in my footsteps.

Spend a lifetime in sin and pain.

Spend the rest of your life in sin and pain

In the house where the sun rises

In the house where the sun rises

Well, I stood on the platform with one foot.

I stepped onto the platform.

The other foot on the train

The other foot is on the train carriage.

I'm going back to New Orleans.

I'm going back to New Orleans.

Put on that ball and chain.

Go back and put on your anklets and chains.

Well, there is a house in New Orleans.

There is a room in New Orleans.

They call it the rising sun

People call it a "rising house"

It destroyed many poor boys.

Many poor children ruined their lives here.

God, I know I'm a

God, I'm one of them.