The melody of "The House of the Rising Run" is a traditional English ballad c1700s and the lyrics were written by Georgia Turner and Bert Martin (both from Kentucky). The song was first recorded in 1928 by black bluesman Texas Alexander and later covered by Leadbelly, Charlie Byrd, Roy Acuff (1938), Woody Guthrie (1941), the Weavers, Bob Dylan (1962), Peter, Paul & Mary, Henry Mancini, Dolly Parton, David Allan Coe, John Fahey, Waylon Jennings, Tim Hardin, Buster Poindexter, Marianne Faithful, Tracy Chapman as well as The Animals . . . just to name a few."