[1], "St. James Infirmary Blues" is sometimes said to be based on an eighteenth-century traditional folk song called "The Unfortunate Rake" (also known as "The Unfortunate Lad" or "The Young Man Cut Down in His Prime") about a soldier who uses his money on prostitutes and then dies of venereal disease. Wrapped up in white linen, as cold as the clay. with Lilly Tomlin singing “St. [4]:10 The second article includes the following comment on the song: "Most versions of 'Infirmary' include a number of stanzas from other songs, grafted on to the main stem – a confusion especially common with songs current among Negroes. What should I spy but one of my comrades I was a-walking down by there one day. [14] This includes some comment on the song, claims without any supporting references or information that a Czech version pre-dates the British ones, repeats the confusion between Dublin and Cork as the place where the "My Jewel My Joy" fragment had been heard, and includes an unattributed quotation of two verses that differ from the versions sung by Lloyd. Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? Saint James seem to be leading the way for a new style of the post hardcore genre. [27], "The Unfortunate Rake" (traditional song: this variation is from a 1960 Folkways LP edited by Goldstein, where it was sung by A L Lloyd, and is also the version given by Harwood, apparently using the same source. I always wondered who actually wrote it- but its like \"House of the Rising Sun\" or \"Stack-o-lee\"- one of those old folk songs that has been passed down and been around forever. The title and words sung by Lloyd are not those of the Such broadside[12] which has no reference to St. James and is not called "The Unfortunate Rake". The opening of that song, as quoted by Lloyd, is: As I went down by St James Hospital one morning, Hugh Laurie - Saint James Infirmary (Let Them ... - YouTube [5] In both articles Lloyd refers to an English broadside song entitled "The Unfortunate Lad", commenting that the song is sometimes known as "The Unfortunate Rake". "St. James Infirmary Blues" is an American blues song of uncertain origin. Third, St. James Infirmary is expanding its outreach program in the Mission. [18]:211 A melody very similar to the Armstrong version can be found in an instrumental composition entitled "Charleston Cabin", which was recorded by Whitey Kaufman's Original Pennsylvania Serenaders in 1924 (three years before the earliest recording of "Gambler's Blues").[1]:39. It was closed in 1532 when Henry VIII acquired the land to build St. James Palace. 2 Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society Vol. "St. James Infirmary Blues" is an American blues song of uncertain origin. "We realise that the confusion in the 'Infirmary', where the dead person is a woman but the funeral is ordered for a man, is surely due to the fact that the original ballad was commonly recorded in a form in which the sexes were reversed, so singers were often in two minds whether they were singing of a rakish man or a bad girl". It's all here. THANK YOU for your support- which keeps me doing what i do!http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dougduffey2I've been doing this song for decades. The version of the "Unfortunate Rake" on the LP of that name is sung by Lloyd, of whom it has been said that he "sometimes modified lyrics or melodies to make the songs more palatable for contemporary listeners",[1]:38 and its first verse is as follows: As I was a-walking down by St. James Hospital, Other Music (+ So On) Alan Lomax Stuff; Disquiet That is a basic explanation of their style, but I highly recommend hearing this for yourself. [19] Armstrong's version includes the following as its third stanza: When I die, want you to dress me, straight-lace shoes, [15], There are numerous versions of the song throughout the English-speaking world. One night, Maher was playing by himself when a customer bet him $100 he couldn’t play “Saint James Infirmary,” which was made famous by Louis Armstrong in the late 1920s. Find your perfect arrangement and access a variety of transpositions so you can print and play instantly, anywhere. Wrapp'd up in flannel, so hard was his fate. [1] In 1927, Carl Sandburg published a book called The American Songbag which contained lyrics for two versions of a song called "Those Gambler's Blues". [1]:30 The Duke Ellington Orchestra recorded the song using pseudonyms such as "The Ten Black Berries", "The Harlem Hot Chocolates", and "The Jungle Band",[1]:19 while Cab Calloway performed a version in the 1933 Betty Boop animated film Snow White, providing vocals and dance moves for Koko the clown. It is a wonderful basis for improvisation. The White Stripes covered the song on their self-titled debut album, and Jack White says he and fellow band member, Meg White, were introduced to the song from a Betty Boop cartoon. Watch the video for St. James Infirmary from Lou Rawls's Great Gentlemen Of Song / Spotlight On Lou Rawls for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. Watch the video for St. James Infirmary from Eric Burdon & The Animals's The Best Of Eric Burdon & The Animals for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. [2] However, the song "St. James Infirmary Blues" is sometimes credited to the songwriter Joe Primrose (a pseudonym for Irving Mills), who held copyrights for several versions of the song, registering the first in 1929. No accompaniment required! Gottlieb considered whether there were Jewish American influences through the use of the Ukrainian Dorian mode, but only found hints of this in a version published by Siegmeister and Downes. Louis Armstrong made the song famous in his 1928 recording on which Don Redman was credited as composer; later releases gave the name Joe Primrose, a pseudonym of Irving Mills.The melody is 8 bars long, unlike songs in the classic blues genre, where there are 12 bars. The opening verse of this song, entitled "The Unfortunate Lad", is: As I was walking down by the Lock Hospital, Check out my book! Bland, Bobby, "Two Steps from the Blues", MCA (CD) 088 112 516-2, Duke (LP) 74, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Fess Williams and his Royal Flush Orchestra, Dave Van Ronk Sings Ballads, Blues, and a Spiritual, "The Workhouse in Westminster (St James), London: Middlesex", "Bad Girl's Lament, The (St. James' Hospital; The Young Girl Cut Down in her Prime) [Laws Q26]", "COLUMBIA 78rpm numerical listing discography: 14000D series". Show you how to play 'St. [21][22] In 1967, the French-American singer Joe Dassin recorded the song. Available via the Bodleian Libraries Broadside Ballads Online Web site. See, for example, 1 Lodewick K (1955) The Unfortunate Rake and his Descendants. That article states, giving no reference or source for the idea, that the phrase "St. James Hospital" refers to a hospital of that name in London. Some of the versions, such as the one published as "Gambler's Blues" and attributed to Carl Moore and Phil Baxter, frame the story with an initial stanza or stanzas in which a separate narrator goes down to a saloon known as "Joe's barroom" and encounters a customer who then relates the incident about the woman in the infirmary. Playing via Spotify Playing via YouTube Playback options The earliest known form of this song was called "The Buck's Elegy" and is set in Covent Garden, London.[3]. [5]:21, Lloyd's second article is cited as a reference by Kenneth Goldstein in his liner notes for a 1960 Folkways LP called The Unfortunate Rake. But she'll never find a sweet man like me. It is sung to the tune of "My Jewel, My Joy", for reasons explained by Lloyd in an article referenced in the liner notes to this LP ), H Such, Union Street, Borough, SE London. This live performance was at the Tricou House [711 Bourbon Street, New Orleans] on March 23, 1991. As I was walking one morning of late, As with many folk songs, there is much variation in the lyric from one version to another. These are the first two stanzas as sung by Louis Armstrong on a 1928 Odeon Records release: I went down to St. James Infirmary, In addition to showing you how to play everything, I’ll explain where the notes come from and my thought process for […] Its first recorded use is 1770. St. James Infirmary Blues Lyrics: I went down to St. James Infirmary / Saw my baby there / She was stretched out on a long white table / So cold, so sweet, so fair / Let her go, let her go! [9] This St. James Infirmary was contemporaneous with the estimated advent of the song "The Unfortunate Lad", but it is not the London Lock Hospital. For example, when the song moved to America, gambling and alcohol became common causes of the youth's death. The first known recording of St. James infirmary Blues came in 1927. [20], In 1961, Bobby "Blue" Bland released a version of "Saint James Infirmary" on the flip side of his No. Another difficulty is that, out of the early versions of the song mentioned in the references given by Goldstein, only the one collected by Cecil Sharp in the Appalachians in 1918, and one found in Canada in the 1920s, make use of the phrase "St. James". [23] Dock Boggs recorded a version of the song entitled "Old Joe's Barroom" (1965). Excitement pours out of me when I hear this. Tune in and peep our vast video network! Recorded in a minor key, its melody featured eight bars as opposed to the standard twelve so common in the blues. Thanks to a grant from the City of San Francisco, St. James Infirmary will have increased presence in the Mission on weekend nights, additional resources, and, importantly, a newly-formed emergency housing program for Sex Workers at risk of harm. Louis Armstrong made the song famous in his influential 1928 recording. The liner notes[11] state that Lloyd is singing a nineteenth century broadside version, but do not specify which. Variations typically feature a narrator telling the story of a young man "cut down in his prime" (occasionally, a young woman "cut down in her prime") as a result of morally questionable behaviour. 2 R&B hit "Don't Cry No More" and included it in his album Two Steps from the Blues. Sheet music is available for Piano, Voice, Guitar and 26 others with 12 scorings and 2 notations in 13 genres. Who did I spy but my own dear comrade, [24], The song was often performed by cabaret surrealists The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo in Southern California; the band's vocalist and songwriter, Danny Elfman, often cited Cab Calloway as his inspiration in his youth. Saint James Infirmary play a hard edged, pretty basic, Quicksand/Fugazi-ish style. [1]:150This version mentions an infirmary but not by name. 126-134. * The Hot 8: The band I heard play “St. [25] In 1981, Bob Dylan adapted the song when he wrote and recorded "Blind Willie McTell". The first article asserts that "the song is, or was before it became corrupted, a narrative ballad. Stretched out on a long white table, The song was first recorded (as "Gambler's Blues") in 1927 by Fess Williams and his Royal Flush Orchestra with credits given to Moore and Baxter. 2 (Dec., 1937), pp. [4] In 1956, Lloyd published a revised version of this article in Sing magazine. James Infirmary” in the late 1990s * The Unfortunate Rake collection on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings * The Unfortunate Rake lyrics * Transcript of S.N.L. Bruce Eder, "Every One of Us - Eric Burdon & the Animals", "The Hokum Boys – You Can't Get Enough Of That Stuff", "Dave Van Ronk – Dave Van Ronk Sings Ballads, Blues & A Spiritual", "Isobel Campbell, St. Etienne Sign New Deals", "A Little Bit Faster and a Little Bit Worse", "Pop CD reviews: Van Morrison, No Doubt, Beth Orton, Rickie Lee Jones, Krar Collectives", "Yo-Yo Ma's The Silkroad Ensemble - St. James Infirmary Blues on Youtube", Blog devoted to "St. James Infirmary Blues" by Robert W. Harwood, You Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart), The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve. The song was written for his 1983 release, Infidels, but was not released until The Bootleg Series, Vol. The song was popular during the jazz era, and by 1930 at least eighteen different versions had been released. Hot Music TV Network is a virtual electronic entertainment center which incorporates audio, video, news plus much more. “St. Another possibility suggested by Higginbotham on the basis of his claim that the song "St. James Infirmary" dates at least from the early nineteenth century, is the Infirmary section of the St James Workhouse which the St. James Parish opened in 1725 on Poland Street, Piccadilly, and which continued well into the nineteenth century. She can look this wide world over, [5]:19 Lloyd points out that in some early variants of "The Unfortunate Rake" the sex of the victim of venereal disease was female. One example is an article by Rob Walker. The Lloyd article cited in the references given in the liner notes,[5] refers to a version published by Such and to no other version. Then known as “Gambler’s Blues,” the dirge-like tale was recorded by Fess Williams and his Royal Flush Orchestra. 3, No. Watch the video for St. James Infirmary from Bobby "Blue" Bland's Two Steps From the Blues for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. Goldstein claimed in the notes that "St. James" refers to London's St. James Hospital, a religious foundation for the treatment of leprosy. James Infirmary Blues' on the guitar. [1]:36 Harwood refers to a five-page article by Lloyd in the January 1947 issue of the English music magazine Keynote. For example, it evolved into other American standards such as "The Streets of Laredo".[16]. The longer term came into use as a generic term for a hospital treating venereal diseases. Lloyd recorded a slightly different version in 1966, this time calling the song "St James Hospital". Box-back coat and a Stetson hat. Watch the video for St. James Infirmary from Louis Armstrong's Father of Jazz Trombone for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. In 1968, Don Partridge released a version on his self-named album, as did Eric Burdon and the Animals on their album Every One of Us. It is in a minor key, and has a 44 time signature, but has also been played in 34. The melody is 8 bars long, unlike songs in the classic blues genre, where there are 12 bars. The liner notes link the Rake to an early fragment called "My Jewel, My Joy", stating that it was heard in Dublin. Such ballads are rare in Negro song...So doubts are raised about whether 'St. Watch the video for St. James Infirmary Blues from The White Stripes's The White Stripes for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. You’ll be able to play this on your own (with a pick). The song, "Dyin' Crapshooter's Blues", has sometimes been described as a descendant of "The Unfortunate Rake", and thus related to "St. James Infirmary Blues". James Infirmary.” * Unfortunate Lass lyrics * Wikipedia entry; 2. Louis Armstrong made the song famous in his 1928 recording on which Don Redman was credited as composer; later releases gave the name Joe Primrose, a pseudonym of Irving Mills. http://bit.do/billsbook.St James Infirmary Blues is a very famous New Orleans blues based on an old English folk song. The opening line of this version of the song refers to the "lock hospital", not to an institution named St James. Playing via Spotify Playing via YouTube. Lloyd claims that a song collected by Cecil Sharp in the Appalachians in 1918 which contains the words "St James Hospital" is the parent song and that it looks like an elder relative of "The Dying Cowboy". His references list an article by Kenneth Lodewick. About Based on an old English balled, the song became a standard among folk-blues and traditional jazz musicians. Later verses commonly include the speaker's request to be buried according to certain instructions, which vary according to the version. According to Robert W. Harwood, A. L. Lloyd was the first person to connect "St. James Infirmary" with "The Unfortunate Lad/Rake". This live performance was at the Tricou House [711 Bourbon Street, New Orleans] on March 23, 1991.\"SAINT JAMES INFIRMARY\" [TRADITIONAL]Arranged and adapted by DOUG DUFFEYPerformance [C] 1991/2007 Doug DuffeyThis song is available on my \"DOUG DUFFEY/ TRADITIONAL\" CD [2011]- and for digital download- via cdbaby.com, itunes, amazon, rhapsody, etc. This song was issued as a record four times in 1927, and attributed to pianist, arranger, and band-leader Porter Grainger. Original Key Am Tuning regular gCEA (should also work in low G) Tab Notes Even though this is tabbed in straight eights, the feel is a slow blues shuffle. Moore and Baxter published a version of "Gambler's Blues" in 1925. No date or source for the latter title is given. [7] There is some difficulty in this because the hospital in question closed in 1532 when Henry VIII acquired the land to build St James's Palace.[8]. The song's title is derived from St. James Hospital in London, a religious foundation for the treatment of leprosy. Saw my baby there, Western Folklore, Vol 14, No 2. pp 98-109, Five Folk Songs. Let her go, let her go, God bless her, A new music service with official albums, singles, videos, remixes, live performances and more for Android, iOS and desktop. Lloyd's articles comment on the jazz hit "St. James Infirmary Blues". In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a solo composition of the classic “St. Aurélie Tropez Open The Door ℗ 2017 Indépendant Released on: 2017-01-01 Auto-generated by YouTube. Wherever she may be, Browse our 18 arrangements of "St. James Infirmary Blues." So cold, so sweet, so fair. The same statement appears in the Lodewick article referenced in those notes[7] The notes given in the source cited for this fragment, a collection of songs collected by William Forde and published by P. W. Joyce, state that the song was heard in Cork, not Dublin.[10]. According to the Saint James Infirmary Songfacts, the song is based on an old English tune, "The Unfortunate Rake," that made its way over to America. "St. James Infirmary Blues", sometimes known as "Gambler's Blues", is often regarded as an American folk song of anonymous origin. He claimed the rights to this specific title and won a case in the U.S. Supreme Court on this basis, the defendants having failed to produce the documentary evidence required by the court that the song had been known by that name for some years. But the familiar recorded versions (such as Armstrong's) bear little relation to the older traditional song. [17] Blind Willie McTell recorded a version of the former for John Lomax in 1940 and claimed to have begun writing the song around 1929. So the boys'll know that I died standin' pat. The lock in Southwark was used for those suffering from venereal diseases. Playing via Spotify Playing via YouTube Playback options James Infirmary' began life as a Negro song". All wrapped up in a flannel though warm was the day.[a]. He also claims that this Appalachian version derives in turn from the version published by Such in London in the 1850s which refers to a lock hospital. Standing on the Corner (Blue Yodel No. [26] [18] He also suggests that there may have been Jewish influences on the rendition by Cab Calloway. The curious switchover from the actual death of the girl to the hypothetical death of the gambler creates some ambiguity too". 9), Louis Armstrong Hot Five and Hot Seven Sessions, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=St._James_Infirmary_Blues&oldid=1001449417, Articles needing additional references from May 2018, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, "Cab Calloway — St James Infirmary Blues", This page was last edited on 19 January 2021, at 18:51. I found my son, my own son, [6] The liner notes raise the question of whether St. James' Hospital was a real place and, if so, where it was. [13] In 1967, his book Folk Song in England was published. James Infirmary”. Put a twenty-dollar gold piece on my watch chain, The term "lock hospital" was the name of an institution in Southwark, London, where lepers were isolated and treated. In 2012, Trombone Shorty and Booker T. Jones performed an instrumental version as the opening number of the "Red, White, and Blues" concert at the White House. 1-3: Rare and Unreleased, 1961-1991 (Columbia, 1991). These liner notes are often used as a source for the history of "St. James Infirmary Blues". So early one morning, it was early one day, James Infirmary Blues”, is an American jazz song of uncertain origin. Playing via Spotify Playing via YouTube Playback options