Tuesday 1 May 2012

St James Infirmary Blues

This blog has tried to feature London songs before. It’s very difficult to find a song that doesn’t fall into the Cockney Pearly King and Queen trap, all having a “right old knees up down the Old Kent Road”.  Well I have finally found one.  Jack White and Jools Holland singing the “St James Infirmary Blues”.  The song is based on an 18th century traditional folk song where the narrator visits his dead sweet heart on a cold, white mortuary slab. Not as evocative as Jay-Z's, "Empire State of Mind" I agree (the definitive song about a city) but if it's good enough for Jack White it's good enough for me.

4 comments:

  1. Fantastic! What a talent!

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  2. So Steve, did Jay-Z call the song Empire State of Mind because Billy Joel already had a song called New York State of Mind?

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    1. That's a very good question. My guess is that Jay-Z has never heard of Billy Joel

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  3. How can the singer of Uptown Girl have never been heard of!!!!!

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