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Regarding “St. James Infirmary” and other things related to the book “Letters From New Orleans”

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Big Al Carson’s Take

June 22, 2006 by nonotes

Got a nice surprise from Ashley Morris the other day: Another version of “SJI” that I didn’t own. It’s by The Magnificent Sevenths featuring Big Al Carson. (Carson, Mr. Morris says, has a regular gig at the Funky Pirate on Bourbon Street.)

Mr. Morris accurately describes the version as: “Not revolutionary, but not bad.” At nearly six minutes, it’s leisurely, bluesy, and a little melodramatic.

Carson opts for the version of the lyrics in which the singer beholds his deceased lover and declares that he wishes “it were me instead.” (Bobby Bland does it this way, for example) As I’ve said elsewhere, this is more narratively rational than the lyrics as Louis Armstrong and others deliver them — but it’s also not as interesting. I’m partial to those versions in which the singer beholds his late beloved and declares that she’ll “never find another man like me.” It’s a strange thought (insofar as she’s dead, and presumably not looking to play the field), but a magic one. Lots of songs are narratively rational, few have that compelling mystery.

Anyway, what doesn’t make narrative sense in the rational version is why the singer at one point or another starts talking about his wishes for his own funeral. Or it least it usually doesn’t make sense to me.

This time, however, Carson is so wound up and wailingly insistent — he spends almost the entire final minute drawing out these lines: “I wish it were me, it were me lying on that cold white table, my skin so cold so fair, it were meeeeeee … iiiinnnnnn … steaaaaaaaaaaaaad!” — that it gave me pause.

I mean, this guy sounds like he really does wish it were him instead. He sounds like he’s consumed with the idea. Like he can’t stop thinking about it. Like maybe he won’t be able to go on living after delivers that last note, he can’t stand it so much.

No wonder he’s thinking about his funeral arrangements.

Thanks again, Mr. Morris!

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  • “St. James Infirmary”

    [Or: The Point of this Site]

    A couple of years ago I did some research into the song "St. James Infirmary," wrote up what I found, emailed that essay to friends and posted it on my web site (as part of a series of "Letters From New Orleans," as I was living in that city at the time). Based on the feedback, I wrote a second version of the essay, and asked for more feedback. Based on that, I wrote a third version.

    And now, this site: A place to collect some of the links, leads, thoughts, and suggestions relating to the song that readers (from Finland, The Netherlands, Australia, Spain, England, Sweden, Canada, and all over the U.S.) have sent me. This may lead to a fourth and significantly expanded version of the essay, some day. Also on this site: Plenty of tangents.

    Never heard "St. James Infirmary"? Start here.

  • The Essay

    gambit-cover.jpg

    The most recent version of my "St. James Infirmary" essay is now a few years old. But it's still a fairly decent overview of what I know about the song, and why I'm interested in it. You can read it either in the book Letters from New Orleans (see below), or in the archives of The Gambit, the New Orleans weekly that published the piece as a book excerpt when LfNO came out.

  • The Book

    This site is a partial spinoff of the book Letters from New Orleans, published by the unstoppable Garrett County Press. My interest in "St. James Infirmary" is the subject of one essay in the book. All author proceeds from the book still go to post-Katrina relief efforts, so I think it's okay for me to say: You ought to buy it.

  • Podcast!

    In November 2007 I was invited to do an all-"SJI" episode of the outstanding Podcast The Sounds In My Head. My episode is here. Post about it (with playlist, so, you know, spoiler alert) is here.
  • 1. St. James (+ Tangents)

    • “I Went Down To St. James Infirmary” blog
    • * Betty Boop cartoon with Cab Calloway’s version of “St. James Infirmary.”
    • * Dutch radio broadcast featuring many versions of “S.J.I.” Part One.
    • * Dutch radio broadcast featuring many versions of “S.J.I.” Part Two
    • * Irving Mills overview via The Red Hot Jazz Archive
    • * Metafilter August 2005 “Streets of Laredo” discussion
    • * Metafilter June 2004 “St. James” discussion
    • * Mudcat discussion
    • * Tablature
    • * The Hot 8: The band I heard play “St. James Infirmary” in the late 1990s
    • * The Unfortunate Rake collection on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
    • * The Unfortunate Rake lyrics
    • * Transcript of S.N.L. with Lilly Tomlin singing “St. James Infirmary.”
    • * Unfortunate Lass lyrics
    • * Wikipedia entry
  • 2. Other Music (+ So On)

    • Alan Lomax Stuff
    • Disquiet
    • Downtown Soulville with Mr. Fine Wine
    • Folkways Smithsonian
    • Gary Giddins Essay on Louis Armstrong
    • Give the Drummer Some
    • Home of the Groove
    • Louisiana Music Directory Blog (Alex Rawls)
    • Music of New Orleans: Music of the Streets; Music of Mardi Gras
    • Myshkin’s Ruby Warblers
    • Negrospirituals.com
    • Soup Greens
    • Still Singing The Blues
    • The American Folklife Center
    • The Florida Folklife Collection
    • The Red Hot Jazz Archive
    • The Sounds In My Head
    • The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong
    • WBGO
    • WWOZ
  • 3. New Orleans (+ Like That)

    • “Class-ifying the Hurricane,” by Adolph Reed Jr.
    • * Why America Needs a City Right Where New Orleans Is
    • After the Deluge: Comic by Josh Neufeld
    • Basin Street Records
    • Culture Gulf
    • Katrina & post-Katrina shots by our friend, photographer Charles Franklin
    • Louisiana Music Factory
    • Washing Away
  • Categories

    • "St. James Infirmary"
    • Announcement
    • Announcements
    • Antecedents and Variations
    • Folk/Tradition
    • Friends
    • In performance
    • Intellectual property
    • Irving Mills/Joe Primrose
    • Letters From New Orleans book
    • Lyric deconstruction
    • MLK BLVD
    • Movies & Television
    • Musical context
    • MySpace/YouTube/Etc.
    • New Orleans
    • Non-musical context
    • One song / one album
    • Other Music +
    • Public Housing
    • Q&As
    • Questions (and sometimes answers)
    • St. James +
    • St. James Infirmary (the building)
    • Thanks
    • The Hot 8
    • The Rolling Jelly Series
    • The Thing Itself
    • Uncategorized
    • Versions
  • Versions

    I either own or am familiar with a bunch of versions of S.J.I. and close variations by a variety of artists. Here's a list, in progress. For now I'm concentrating on SJI, rather than its folk antecedents or any of the "Streets of Laredo" thread. Title is "St. James Infirmary" or "St. James Infirmary Blues" unless otherwise noted:


    A - B -C
  • Aempirei
  • Henry "Red" Allen
  • Little Pink Anderson
  • Glenn David Andrews
  • The Animals
  • Louis Armstrong (more than once, but the 1928 version is the one I'm partial to); 1967 version discussed here

  • Baby Boyz
  • James "Iron Head" Baker ("St. James Hospital;" a Lomax field recording)
  • Danny Barker
  • Count Basie
  • "Antoine Batiste"
  • Bethany & Rufus
  • Bobby "Blue" Bland
  • Dock Boggs
  • The Graham Bond Organisation
  • James Booker
  • Elton Britt
  • Peter Brötzmann/Die Like a Dog

  • Cab Calloway
  • Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan
  • Sister Wynona Carr ("I'm A Pilgrim Traveler")
  • Big Al Carson / The Magnificent Sevenths
  • Eric Clapton and Dr. John (live)
  • Joe Cocker
  • Anat Cohen
  • Ray Condo
  • Harry Connick Jr.
  • J. Lawrence Cook
  • Scatman Crothers

  • D-E-F

  • Joe Dassin
  • Herman Davis ("Barroom Blues")
  • The Doors

  • Snooks Eaglin
  • Ramblin' Jack Elliot

  • Bob French's Original Tuxedo Jazz Band & Friends

  • G-H-I

  • Michael Galasso ("Blue"), an amazing piece.
  • Red Garland (a nice one)
  • Errol Garner
  • Benny Goodman
  • Andy Griffith
  • Arlo Guthrie

  • Hall Johnson Negro Choir
  • Harlem Hot Chocolates
  • Alex Hill and His Orchestra
  • Earl Hines
  • Mattie Hite ("St. Joe's Infirmary")
  • Nils Hoffmann
  • Toshiyuki Honda
  • The Hokum Boys ("Gamber's Blues," two excellent takes)

  • J-K-L

  • Janis Joplin (mentioned to me by multiple people; I don't have it)
  • Dr. John ("Touro Infirmary")
  • Tom Jones

  • Kansas City Frank and his Footwarmers
  • Johnny Kendall & The Heralds (I'm told this was huge in The Netherlands in the 1960s)
  • Stan Kenton (twice, I think, one of those as "Gambler's Blues")
  • Chris Thomas King
  • Spider John Koerner
  • Joe Krown

  • George E. Lee and his Novelty Singing Orchestra
  • Julia Lee
  • Blake Leyh, Davis Rogan, Tony Jarvis
  • Limelighters

  • M-N-O

  • Magnolia Sisters ("Barroom Blues")
  • Colette Magny
  • The Main Squeeze Orchestra
  • Roger McGuinn
  • Jimmy McPartland
  • Blind Willie McTell (as "Dyin' Crapshooters Blues," in 1942 and 1956; I prefer the latter)
  • Irving Mills and His Hotsy Tosty Gang
  • Van Morrison
  • Megan Mullally
  • The Mumlers

  • Nelstone's Hawaiians ("You'll Never Find A Daddy Like Me")

  • (Mystic Knights of) Oingo Boingo
  • King Oliver
  • The Outsiders Featuring Maddie Ruthless
  • Kid Ory

  • P-Q-R

  • Moses "Clear Rock" Platt. ("St. James Hospital," a Lomax field recording)
  • Preservation Hall Jazz Band
  • Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Yim Yames
  • Hot Lips Paige
  • Perez Prado

  • Lou Rawls
  • Jerry Reed
  • Della Reese
  • Django Reinhardt
  • Marc Ribot (Solo guitar instrumental; one of my favorites)
  • Tony Rice ("St. James Hospital")
  • Jimmie Rodgers ("Those Gamblers' Blues," one of my very favorites; "Gambling Barrooom Blues" is similar)
  • Kermit Ruffins

  • S-T-U

  • Artie Shaw
  • Archie Shepp
  • Frederick "Shep" Sheppard ("Habari Gani")
  • Ezra Sims ("Sextet")
  • Sin the Tik
  • Jimmy Smith
  • Snakefarm
  • James Solbere
  • Muggsy Spanier
  • Pete Special/Old Town School of Folk
  • Standells
  • The Stolen Sweets
  • Jack Teagarden (at least two versions)
  • Alphonso Trent and his Orchestra
  • Triffids
  • Trombone Shorty

  • V-W-X-Y-Z

    Dave Van Ronk

  • Doc Watson ("St. James Hospital")
  • Josh White
  • The White Stripes
  • Fess Williams and His Royal Flush Orchestra ("Gambler's Blues")
  • Cassandra Wilson
  • Garland Wilson
  • Jackie Wilson
  • Marva Wright

  • The Ventures

  • Frank Zappa ("Ain't Necessarily the St. James Infirmary Blues," a pretty cool take)

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