St. James Infirmary Blues is an American blues and jazz standard with roots in folk music, also known as Gambler’s Blues. The song tells a somber street tale in which the narrator goes down to St. James Infirmary, sees his lover on a long white table, and contemplates letting her go while imagining his own funeral; the lyrics often shift from mourning to bragging about the narrator’s fate. The tune is eight bars long, is in a minor key, and typically uses a 4/4 feel, though it has also been played in 3/4.
The best known early recording was by Louis Armstrong and His Savoy Ballroom Five in 1928, released on Okeh Records. Earlier sheet music in 1925 credited Carl Moore and Phil Baxter as writers, and later releases sometimes credit Irving Mills under the pseudonym Joe Primrose or Don Redman. Since then the song has been recorded by many artists across genres, including Cab Calloway, Bobby Bland, Joe Dassin, Eric Burdon, and The White Stripes, and it has appeared in Betty Boop cartoons and in White House performances. Its eight bar form, haunting mood, and celebrity associations helped establish St. James Infirmary as a enduring jazz and folk blues standard.
