They call the Rising Sun And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy And God I know I'm one There is a house in New Orleans 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

Born on the bayou Born on the bayou. Chasin' down a hoodoo there. Now when I was just a little boy standin' to my Daddy's knee My Poppa said son don't let the man get you do what he done to me 'Cause he'll get you 'cause he'll get you now now. I can

But I was there when there was nobody home Please believe me when I say I dunno Gone for good, in fact, but what does it mean? Within a year they always sold and bought Yes, he wore a cowboy hat Each bone broken in his back All the money and all the gold

There's a world out there Don't you deny me Give me one last wish Stop using my It was meant to be But all along it never meant a thing Never stopped to ask you why

They call the Rising Sun And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy And God I know I'm one There is a house in New Orleans 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

Born on the bayou Born on the bayou. Chasin' down a hoodoo there. Now when I was just a little boy standin' to my Daddy's knee My Poppa said son don't let the man get you do what he done to me 'Cause he'll get you 'cause he'll get you now now. I can

*Nas talking* "The light is there." See I come from Mississippi I was young and runnin' wild Ended up in New York City, where I had my first child I named the boy Nasir, all the boys call him Nas I told him as a youngster, he'll be the greatest man

Toy-like people make me boy-like I see myself in there upon my lover I found a reason I seen you go down to a cold mirror It was never clearer in my era so You lick a shine upon your forehead or Check it by the signs in the corridor You light my ways

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn Is just to love and be loved in return" There was a boy A very strange enchanted boy They say he wandered very far, very far Over land and sea A little shy and sad of eye But very wise was he And then one day

There's somethin' 'bout a boy from the South. Yeah, the first time I felt it I was only 16, And he kissed me underneath the chinaberry tree. Said "Goodnight darlin'," with a sweet southern drawl. Man, I think I might just have to love them all The boys