St James Infirmary

The early blues songs of the United States had the guitar ragtime players and the earthy tones that remain identified with the blues.  These songs often emanated from gospel or from raw experiences of living.  One of those songs is St. James Infirmary, a song that is known and performed by many musicians, but still remains fresh because of the melody and the lyrics that remind us of the commonality of social issues that continue to be part of our world.

St. James Infirmary speaks of that raw living, the man who lives his life carelessly and dies of venereal disease.  Some say it was written in the 18th century, but its origins remain somewhat vague, as there are a number of different verses with changes to them, and additions made, over the years.  Nevertheless it speaks of that human experience of living hard and not dying well.  It is reputed to have been about a soldier, making his way around and getting his needs met by a prostitute, then finds himself in trouble at the end.

One of the early recordings of the song was by Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly) who spent much of his life in prison and who also frequented prostitutes and developed a venereal disease as a result.

The song is one that continues to resound well with audiences, and it is here in its traditional, yet modern form: