Later that year, the group released the classic hardcore single "Amoeba" on Posh Boy Records. The Adolescents signed with Frontier Records in January 1981 and recorded The Adolescents the following month. Rikk Agnew left and was replaced by Pat Smear, formerly of The Germs. This line up lasted until the end of June when Smear left.
The Adolescents broke up in August 1981. Cadena formed The Abandoned, Soto and Agnew joined Legal Weapon, Royer formed D.I. and Agnew joined Christian Death after his departure.
Rikk Agnew made his solo album in 1983 then joined D.I. with Alfie Agnew, Frank and Rikk's younger brother.
In 1986 The Adolescents reformed with their original line-up and started to work on a new album. They recorded Brats in Battalions in the late summer. The record came out in August 1987 due to the band deciding to produce and release the album themselves with little cash or backing.
The Adolescents broke up in April 1989.
The band regrouped to tour for the 20th anniversary of their self-titled album in 2001 and have continued to perform.
The Adolescents have a new release out on Finger Records, O.C. Confidential in 2005. Finger Records is owned and run by Mel Schantz out of Orange County, California.
The Adolescents toured in support of OC Confidential, but Frank Agnew left the band in 2006. Rotating through as the band's live guitarists over the next few years were Matt Beld, Joe Harrison, and Soto's former Joyride bandmate Mike McKnight. O'Brien left the band in 2008 and was replaced by Armando Del Rio. Reflex and Soto became the band's sole constant members and primary songwriters from this point forward, and signed the Adolescents to German label Concrete Jungle Records. A split EP with the band Burning Heads was released in 2009. For the band's next album, 2011's The Fastest Kid Alive, the lineup was Reflex, Soto, Del Rio, McKnight, and Harrison. The band also contributed a cover version of the Runaways' "School Days" to the tribute album Take It or Leave It: A Tribute to the Queens of Noise that year.
Dan Root took Harrison's guitar position in 2012, and the Adolescents released the American Dogs in Europe EP in conjunction with a European tour. This was followed by the band's sixth studio album, Presumed Insolent (2013). Del Rio was replaced by Mike Cambra, and McKnight by Leroy Merlin, for 2014's La Vendetta..., which was given a North American release the following year by Frontier Records. Hot War, a split EP with Russian band Svetlanas, followed in 2015, containing one song from Presumed Insolent and one from La Vendetta... The Adolescents' most recent studio album, Manifest Density, was released July 8, 2016 by Concrete Jungle, with Ian Taylor taking Merlin's place as rhythm guitarist.
House of the Rising Sun
Adolescents Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They call the Rising Sun,
It's been the ruin of many a poor girl,
And me, oh god I'm one.
My mother was a tailor.
She sewed those new blue jeans.
My lover was a gambling one.
Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and trunk
And the only time he's satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk
He fills his glasses up to the brim,
And push those cards around.
The only pleasure he gets out of life
Is rambling from town to town.
Now tell my baby sister,
Not to do what I have done.
But shun that house in New Orleans,
They call the Rising Sun.
Got one foot on the platform
The other foot on that train
I'm going back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain
I'm going back to New Orleans
The aged-old soul have run
I'm going back to end my life,
Down in the Rising Sun.
There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun,
It's been the ruin of many a poor girl,
And me, oh god I'm one.
The lyrics of Adolescents' version of "House of the Rising Sun" speak of a notorious and infamous establishment in New Orleans known as the Rising Sun. This brothel has ruined the lives of many young women, including the singer of the song. The singer warns her younger sister to avoid the same fate and not make the same mistake she did. Throughout the song, the lyrics describe the addictive nature of gambling, which ultimately leads to the singer's downfall. The song concludes with her acknowledging her fate and returning to New Orleans to face the consequences of her choices.
The song, though originally a folk ballad, has been covered by numerous artists over the years. While the lyrics have remained relatively unchanged, the style and instrumentation have varied widely. Adolescents' version is a punk rock cover of the classic song, adding a sense of urgency and rawness to the lyrics. One interesting interpretation of the song is that the "house" in question is a metaphor for life, with the "rising sun" representing the dawning of a new day and the endless cycle of birth and death.
Line by Line Meaning
There is a house down in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun,
It's been the ruin of many a poor girl,
And me, oh god I'm one.
This house in New Orleans, known as the Rising Sun, has been the downfall of many young women, including myself.
My mother was a tailor.
She sewed those new blue jeans.
My lover was a gambling one.
Down in New Orleans.
My mother made clothes for a living, including the blue jeans that my lover wore. He was a gambler who lived in New Orleans.
Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and trunk
And the only time he's satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk
All a gambler requires is a suitcase and a trunk. He is only content when he is drunk, wasting away his life.
He fills his glasses up to the brim,
And push those cards around.
The only pleasure he gets out of life
Is rambling from town to town.
He pours alcohol to the brim of the glass and passes the time playing cards. The only enjoyment he derives is traveling from city to city, aimlessly.
Now tell my baby sister,
Not to do what I have done.
But shun that house in New Orleans,
They call the Rising Sun.
I caution my younger sister to avoid making the same mistakes I have, staying away from the perilous Rising Sun establishment in New Orleans.
Got one foot on the platform
The other foot on that train
I'm going back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain
Standing with one foot on the platform, and the other on the train, I am going to New Orleans to face the consequences of my poor choices and the guilt that comes with them.
I'm going back to New Orleans
The aged-old soul have run
I'm going back to end my life,
Down in the Rising Sun.
I am heading back to New Orleans, where I have lived a long, hard, lonely life. I am returning there to put an end to my life, in the infamous Rising Sun establishment.
There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun,
It's been the ruin of many a poor girl,
And me, oh god I'm one.
Once again, I repeat that this house in New Orleans, known as the Rising Sun, has been the downfall of many young women, including myself.
Contributed by Joseph H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
CR
on No Way
I perceive the "No ass, no head" lyrics to mean no sex, no blowjobs(head) hence the "gotta go home and jack off instead"