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St. James Infirmary Blues

Saint James Infirmary Blues by Irving Miles

Am Am E E Am

I went [Am] to old [E]Joe’s [Am]bar room,
On the corner [D] by the [Am] square,
Where the drinks were [E]served as [Am} usual,
And the usual [E]crowd was [Am] there.

At the bar stood big Joe McKennedy.
His eyes were bloodshot red.
He turned to the crowd around him,
And this is what big Joe said.

He said, “I went down to St. James Infirmary,
To see my baby there.
She was laid out on a cold steel table,
So calm, so pale, so fair.

Let her go, let her go God bless her,
Wherever she may be.
You can search the whole world over,
And never find a better man than me.

When I die please bury me,
In a high crowned Stetson hat.
Put a ‘hunered’ dollar bill in my pocket,
So folks will know I died standing pat.”

Will that’s the end of my story.
Let’s have another round of booze.
And if anybody here should ask you.
I’ve got the St. James Infirmary blues.

I’ve got the St. James Infirmary blues

+++
There are more verses and variations. Some people do the song jazzy. I like it more as a blues song. I learned this song from T.C. Blues.

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Tags: infirmary, james, john, squirmary, st, More…uncle

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Comment by Uncle John on May 11, 2012 at 9:01am: Thanks, Digly. I saw your vid on the Cohiba solid body. You sure play that thing well.

Comment by Diglydog on May 11, 2012 at 3:37am: That's amazing. It certainly gives beginners like me some inspiration and something to aim for.

Comment by Uncle John on May 10, 2012 at 4:10pm: Thank you, Phillip, Matthew and John.

Comment by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on May 10, 2012 at 1:05pm: Really wonderful. You are on top form with that song. The setting is perfect too.

Comment by Matthew Borczon on May 9, 2012 at 2:11pm: so real and raw. The setting is perfect and your voice is perfect for this song. Really enjoyed it

Comment by Phillip Robert on May 9, 2012 at 12:47pm: How could i miss that vid !?...

many great artists ve sung and still sing that tune...

today you sing it...you know what i mean Uncle John?

...°<[:-) [---]==={...

Comment by Uncle John on May 8, 2012 at 1:36pm: Thank you Calim!

Comment by Calim on May 8, 2012 at 7:44am: ah excelent! one of my fav song! i'm accustomed to cab calloway's one (with this damn terrifying cartoon...),

but yep, sound great as a blues song, love your version. nice vid too!