Q: How the frick does House of rising sun work? It's like an A minor but you have the bloody D major and E major chords in there as well? Why does it work so well and what is theoretically going on here? Like what principle is at play that allows that to work in such a nice way?
A: if you would like to know why music works so well, perhaps the music would like to ask you first why you like it so much. but from a more practical standpoint, i think it would be appropriate at this time for you to take note of this encounter you're having with this song, and file this away as the "House of Rising Sun" principle. you will be sure to recognize this same phenomenon in many songs throughout your life, and you will tell anecdotes to your colleagues about the fond time when you first had this experience, with this song. they may have similar stories to share, about that song or perhaps other songs, like "Hotel California", or "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"