(Sounds of life-support machinery)
[Schaffer the Darklord]
[Verse 1]
At the corner of Orchard and Stanton on the square
Sipping booze at the slipper room, everyone was there
I met a stranger there, his eyes blood shot red
Face pale as a ghost, he spoke to me as he said
"Have you ever lost and loved?
Have you ever loved and lost?
You ever left a life of love and pain
And paid the highest cost?
I have
I fell in love with an angel in rays
But she was terminally ill
Doctors had given her days
She made, a final wish
That made my blood run cold
Wanted to go on her own terms
Awash in love's throes
Said I'd rather die by you
In our pa**ion so endless
Than in the I.C.U
In those tubes like a necklace
I took her hand in mine
I took her throat in the other
I watched the dying lights
Behind the final smile of my lover
I dressed her and I kissed her
Fled with little delay
Before the ambulance
Arrived to take my baby away"
[Hook]
"Down to St. James Infirmary
And I saw my baby there
She was stretched out
On a long, white table
So sweet, so cold, so fair"
[Verse 2]
"Now what was I to do?" he asked
"Where was I to run?
Even if I got away
How could I live with what I'd done?
Even though I'd only honored
Her request to ease her leaving
I know there ain't a juror
In the world who'd believe me
And since the thought of life
Without my lover was hell
I decided that I'd join her
With a final bow as well
Heart-broken, guilt-ridden
At my rope's end
But first
I needed just to see her again
So I went down to that old hospital
Later that night
I snuck in and found her
Covered under flickering lights
A subtle smile still upon her face
Her body now breathless
And my hand print
Still lay upon her like a necklace
I kissed her cold lips
Removed a rose from my pocket
Made my way to the door
Before I froze and locked it
And there down in St. James
At half past nine
I made love to my baby
One last time"
[Hook]
"Down at St. James Infirmary
And I saw my baby there
She was stretched out
On a long, white table
So sweet, so cold, so fair"
[Verse 3]
The stranger told his tale
Downed his drink and he stood
He spoke to me a last request
His face like etched wood
He said
"When I die, bury me in straight-laced shoes
A posh black suit and sing the St. James Blues"
And slipped a twenty dollar bill inside my lapel
So I can tip the ferryman when I arrive in hell
I never caught his name
His face I never recognized
But his exit was the last time
That he was seen alive
Some said he was tragic
Some said he was reckless
When they found him that night
Wearing his belt like a necklace
And some cried about the wicked pleasures of men
But i smiled
Knowing soon they'd be together again
[Hook]
Down at St. James Infirmary
And they saw each other there
They were stretched out
On long, white tables
So sweet, so cold, so fair
Let her go
Let her go
God bless her
Wherever she may be
She may search
The whole world over
But she'll never find
A man as depraved as he