Bob Dylan - The House of The Rising Sun - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords Am, C/G, E, D/F#, F, E7 Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

Am  C/G  D/F#  F 
Am  E  Am  E

      Am   C/G      D/F#           F
There is a house in New Orleans
     Am       C/G    E   E7
They call the rising sun
         Am       C/G      D/F#         F
And it's been the ruin of many poor girls
    Am    E         Am    C/G  D/F#  F   Am  E  Am  E
And me, Oh God, I'm one

   Am     C/G     D/F#    F
My mother was a tailor
    Am         C/G            E    E7
She sewed this new blue jeans
    Am         C/G      D/F#    F
My sweetheart was a gamblin,Lord
   Am   E          Am   C/G  D/F#  F  Am  E  Am  E
Down in New Orleans

         Am     C/G     D/F#       F
Now the only thing a gambler needs
       Am      C/G   E      E7
Is a suitcase and a trunk
          Am  C/G        D/F#    F
And the only time he's satisfied
     Am       E         Am  C/G  D/F#  F  Am  E
Is when he's on a drunk

  Am             C/G     D/F#         F
He filled his glasses up to the brim
    Am          C/G        E     E7
He passed the cards arround
         Am     C/G         D/F#          F
And the only pleasure he gets out of life
     Am         E           Am    C/G  D/F#  F  Am  E
Is ramblin' from town to town

    Am      C/G    D/F#    F
Oh tell my baby sister
        Am     C/G     E      E7
Not to do what I have done
       Am       C/G     D/F#          F
But shun that house in New Orleans
      Am       E       Am  C/G  D/F#  F  Am  E
They call the rising sun

          Am       C/G         D/F#   F
Now it's one foot on the platform
        Am         C/G       E     E7
And the other foot on the train
      Am     C/G     D/F#     F
I'm going back to New Orleans
     Am       E          Am  C/G  D/F#  F  Am  E
To wear that ball and chain
                                           
          Am  C/G      D/F#    F
Now I'm going back to New Orleans
     Am     C/G     E       E7
My race is almost run
     Am     C/G   D/F#    F
I'm going back to end my life
   Am         E       Am  C/G  D/F#  F  Am  E
there in the rising sun

       Am   C/G     D/F#   F
There is a house in New Orleans
     Am        C/G   E       E7
They call the rising sun
          Am        C/G     D/F#     F
And it's been the ruin of many poor girl
    Am    E           Am   C/G  D/F#  F  Am  E  Am
And me, Oh God, I'm one

End of song Play again?

Bob Dylan - The House of The Rising Sun Tabs

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Harmony analysis

Bob Dylan – The House of The Rising Sun: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Am and ends on Am. Its chords belong to both C major and Am, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

C major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = B (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = F (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

A minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = F (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = G (natural-minor colour)
#7 = G# (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the A minor side because it both starts and finishes on Am, Am is heard 54 times against 33 for C and the major V chord points straight at Am. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from C major, and switching between the two views is exactly where the practice value lies.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to C or to Am; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Seen from C major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	C/G	Tonic — home	C · E · G	33×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	—
II	D/F#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F# · A	25×
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	—
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	28×
V7/vi	E7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B · D	8×
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	25×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	—
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	54×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	54×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C/G	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	33×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	—
IV	D/F#	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	D · F# · A	25×
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	—
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	28×
V7	E7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B · D	8×
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	25×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	—

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 6 different chords appear 173 times in total; 3 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Am brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from C, the same E / E7 is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Am. D/F# step outside the scale as colour chords.

Chord movement

F Am CIV → vi AmVI → iVI → i ×25
E Am CV/vi → vi AmV → iharmonic-minor cadence ×20
E7 Am CV7/vi → visecondary resolution AmV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×8

The move to watch is F → Am, heard 25 times. From the Am side it is VI → i (VI → i: falls a half step into home); from the C side it reads IV → vi. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

C major pentatonic and A minor pentatonic are the same five notes (C – D – E – G – A): start from C for a brighter phrase, from A for a bluesier one.
Over Am, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C/G, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over E, land on E, G#, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When E comes, swap the scale's G for G#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.

The song on the circle of fifths

Played in the song — chord of the key
Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
Played — borrowed or outside chord
Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii

Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.

Capo and easier keys

With C major shapes

No capo — open C shapes
Capo 3 + A shapes
Capo 5 + G shapes

With A minor shapes

No capo — open Am shapes
Capo 5 + Em shapes
Capo 7 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.

The song's harmonic story

Starting on Am, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. Am, C/G, E, D/F# carry the song: vi–I–V/vi–II relative to C, i–III–V–IV relative to Am. E is the interesting twist: in C it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in Am it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on F → Am (IV → vi in C, VI → i in Am): VI → i — falls a half step into home. The final chord is Am; the ear comes to rest in Am.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.