Lyrics Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee Jones

St. James Infirmary

I went down to St. James Infirmary

To see my baby there,

She was lyin' on a long white table,

So sweet, so cool, so fair.

Went up to see the doctor,

"She's very low," he said;

Went back to see my baby

Good God! She's lying there dead.

I went down to old Joe's barroom,

On the corner by the square

They were serving the drinks as usual,

And the usual crowd was there.

On my left stood old Joe McKennedy,

And his eyes were bloodshot red;

He turned to the crowd around him,

These are the words he said:

Let her go, let her go, God bless her;

Wherever she may be

She may search the wide world over

And never find a better man than me

Oh, when I die, please bury me

In my ten dollar Stetson hat;

Put a twenty-dollar gold piece on my watch chain

So my friends'll know I died standin' pat.

Get six gamblers to carry my coffin

Six chorus girls to sing me a song

Put a twenty-piece jazz band on my tail gate

To raise Hell as we go along

Now that's the end of my story

Let's have another round of booze

And if anyone should ask you just tell them

I've got the St. James Infirmary blues