Many of you will recognize this post shares its title with that of The Animals’ classic 1964 single. They only covered it of-course, as did many other artists as well(not quite with the same aplomb though). It has its roots in American folk music, a painstaking eulogy to life gone wrong in the brothels and gambling houses of New Orleans. Heartfelt as hell.

‘there is a house in New Orleans/they call the Rising Sun
and its been the ruin of many a poor boy/and God I know I’m one’

But this post is not about the song itself. Reason I was reminded of it, since when its been playing non-stop on my stereo, is that browsing through Daily Star today, I couldn’t help being reminded of the scene towards the end of Martin Scorcese’s last truly great film in my opinion, Casino. It captures the downfall(sorry about the Spanish dub) of the whole criminal establishment around Robert De Niro, with everyone either getting busted or getting whacked, in an apocalyptic implosion where treachery becomes second skin and repentance comes all too late. All set to the song I’ve been talking about in one of the greatest uses of music in a film ever.

So here I was today, reading about Jalil’s plea, Lobby’s 8-year sentence, Hasina’s heart-rending (but bewildering) question, and it occurred to me how similar the downfall of our political establishment has been to that part of the film. Comeuppance rolled into town, and those that didn’t make it to the border capitulated, one by one. Some gracefully, some pathetically.

But all surely, with regret. Jalil, in his plea sounded to me a broken man. The swipes he took at Hasina, while surely not misplaced, would have been much more appreciated if they had come during his courtship of power, not now when it has deserted him. Granted, there might have been coercion involved, but this too, only serves to reinforce the original image. The house has come falling down like the proverbial.

And maybe someone’s singing..

‘oh Mother/tell your children
not to do/ what I have done’