House Of The Rising Sun lyrics

this song is so old its hard to figure out the whole meaning. Its rumored to have been wroten in the late 1800's by a man who had just gotten out of jail and was about to go back for another crime. Which explains the chain thing and the sister thing, but the first verse just confuses me. I'll try to figure it out but its really difficult since its so old

It's a simple life... not american life, simple, like the most people have... troubles, feelings...