Because I just was in a hospital (always surprising how we can be transported painlessly by an injection into nothingness), the St. James Infirmary Blues jumped into my mind. I tried to find the melody on my banjo again.
“It was down in Old Joe’s barroom / On the corner by the square / The usual crowd was assembled / And big Joe McKinney was there… I went down to the St. James Infirmary / I saw my baby there / She’s laid out on a cold white table / So so cold, so white, so fair.”
Last year I also wrote about this topic at https://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/st-james-infirmary-blues/ – my fellow bloggers had been kind enough to leave some comments:
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In my profession as a surgeon
i saw a lot of bad things
And you wonder why this all happened
And there is no answer
you can only accept what happened
And you have to live with this reality -
In my flickr stream you can find some pictures with this theme
For example:
http://flic.kr/p/4ipeeo
http://flic.kr/p/4i9EGV -
your photos, dear Wolfgang:
click on the pictures = links:
to enter Wolfgang’s galleries on Flickr.com -
SimplySage
My father-in-law nearly died last month from West Nile Virus. He was in the hospital, mostly ICU for one entire month. It was frightening and sad to watch him suffering as it progressed to encephalitis. He is home recovering with 24-hour home care, but is still very weak. Weak, yes, but so happy to still be with us. And we are very happy, too!
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Liked your rendition, but don’t be offended when I say that that Mr. Armstrong did it better. I love the way he takes sadness and goes past melodramatic to the sublime. It is a great great song. and always great to play.
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thank you, Stephen, for your description: Louis Armstrong “…takes sadness and goes past melodramatic to the sublime…” – maybe the version of Joe Cocker is more pompous, bombastic – not really sad? Of course we do not praise my version – it was only a lifelong daily reminder for me, that we all can’t live forever – and that there will be a great sadness come to the very end …
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How terrifying to have experienced that. Your wife recovered and the child was okay, I hope? I enjoyed this song–very sad, but compelling.
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hi Naomi, 2 of 10,000 have this complication (sudden Haemophilia: stats: one woman dies, the other survives), that suddenly the blood keeps flowing; they poured many liters in – and they came out again for two hours (still remained: lifelong liver complications) she stayed infected by the blood transfusions; baby O.K., the baby is grown up: an architect now, aged nearly 40, two sons – but since then we all know: it all can end in minutes…
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After that, yes, you would take nothing for granted and value every precious moment. How terrifying. So glad she survived and your babies are all grown up!
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Sorry to hear what your wife had to go through…
Enjoy the best of by Frizzguitar. Thank you!! -
QUESTION:
Some cases of serious hospital situations, caring for a loved one, in your memories?Yourself in a hospital, seriously ill, once – but now outside again, surviving?
YES to both, but I am not ready to talk about either event in a public forum.
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And Frizz, please stay versatile so we have to catch you on the wing.My very best to your family !!
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Your rendition is beautiful.
Some stories are too sad to tell. I’m hoping all went well in the end for you and yours. -
My husband love Louis Armstrong. He plays his trumpet and cornet with him on many occasions. He always plays and sings it to me when he plays his clarinet. I love the song. I want to have a New Orleans funeral. I think they have thr gith idea about death. Thanks for posting the videos … myhusband had never seen the first one … and … he is all over the You Tube looking for JAzzz. I wish we would see more musicians playing JAzz. Thanks for keeping it alive. Love this post.
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congrats for living side by side with such a good musician!
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I love his playing and jazz. I get to hear great music like that a lot.
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Sounds like it was a frightening experience for you.
I’ve had nightmare experiences in a hospital within the last 3 years. Too many times in the hospital and too many surgeries for me. The last time in the hospital, I was in very bad shape and in excruciating pain all over my body, but they could not figure out what was wrong. I was debilitated and nonfunctional and was still sent home and told by doctors they couldn’t do any more for me. Later, I found alternative treatments that is helping to figure out what is wrong. The treatments are helping and I’m gradually improving. I’m better off now than if I hadn’t fortunately found the alternative treatments. These practitioners truly care about helping me. iI still have a long way to go. I’ve posted about some of this in another blog of mine, hopefully to heighten awareness. -
That hospital episode sounds terrifying Frizz. I have too many horrid memories of hospitals involving loved ones. I would rather listen to your lovely music
Flickr Comments 
“Bon rétablissement” comme on dit en France. Good recovery . It’s a pleasure to hear you again
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Oh, Frizz, I hope everything is alright now!!! All the best my friend… BE WELL! 🙂
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Hospitals aren’t fun. In fact, they are frightening. The song fits your thoughts very well.
My favorite tune, of course. Be well … be blessed and quick recovery.
Isadora
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Frizz, are you all raight right now? I hope everything is going well. I wish you the best.
Kind greetings,
Marianne
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Praying you are fully recovered Frizz!
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No time is a good time for a hospital stay, but especially this time of year. I send my best with hopes that you are doing much better, if not completely well. Take good care, dear frizz.
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not completely well, but still able to pick some tunes on my banjo – I hope …
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What a terribly sad song.
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Hoping you are well, Frizz. That banjo version is magnifico.
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Here’s to a Speedy recovery with no relapses!
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Hope you are out of there already Frizz, and strumming that guitar 🙂
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Are you ok now, Frizz? I hope it wasn’t serious.
I guess if one is in the hospital, it is usually because one is not doing or feeling well. But I have had too many nightmares and horrid memories of being in the hospital, some of which should not have been such a nightmare.
Sending you my best and many well wishes.
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they are still searching, testing my frizzbody etc.
thank you for
soothing architecture, indeed!
“…This is the inside of the cancer hospital
where we spend a lot of time
for my mother’s cancer treatments,
procedures and tests.
It certainly doesn’t look or feel like a hospital,
but that was the intended design –
to make the patient feel like
they were NOT in a hospital.
Even the individual patient rooms
give the feeling like you are in a nice hotel room…”
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