Traditional

I went down to old Joe's barroom,
On the corner by the square.
The drinks were served as usual,
And a goodly 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:

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.

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 those Gambler's Blues.

Notes:
There is an amazingly detailed bit of background of this song at
http://robwalker.net/html_docs/letterthirteen.html .