Your additions are interesting as always, Karen.
For completeness sake, here is the text that mentions "John Seley's Hospital", it was originally posted to mudcat by Frank Staplin in 2007:

HOW SAD WAS THE DEATH OF MY SWEETHEART
(Negro folk song; Scarborough, 1925)

I went to John Seley's hospital;
The nurse there she turned me around.
She turned me around, yes, so slowly,
An' said, "The poor girl is sleepin' in the ground."

I was walkin' down Walnut Street so lonely,
My head it was hanging so low.
It made me think of my sweetheart,
Who was gone to a world far unknown.

Refrain:
Let her go, let her go.
May God bless her, wherever she may be.
She is mine.
She may roam this wide world over
But she will never fin' a man like me.

While walkin' I met her dear mother,
With her head hangin' low as was mine.
"Here's the ring of your daughter, dear mother,
And the last words as she closed her eyes:

"Take this ring, take this ring,
Place it on your lovin' right hand.
And when I am dead and forgotten
Keep the grass from growing on my grave."

Obtained from a 'young Galveston Negro, a student at Straight College, New Orleans'. Worth Tuttle Hedden, the collector, said it was rather widely sung among the Negroes in Galveston. John Seley Hospital is (or was) in Galveston.
p. 94, Dorothy Scarborough, 1925, "On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs," Harvard University Press. Facsimile 1963, Folklore Associates, Inc.

What's noteworthy about this version is that it makes no mention of gambling or pimps at all, it has a rather different feel.
It's almost as if the over-the-top, vulgar Gambler's Blues is a parody of this song.


I have uploaded some of my favourite recordings of "St. James' Infirmary Blues" to soundcloud.
I'm not sure if I could run into copyright issues with these old recordings, but I'll just add them and then we'll see whether they stay or disappear.

The earliest known appearance of the common St. James' Infirmary tune, as part of a dance tune called "Charleston Cabin", recorded in 1924:
Charleston Cabin (1924) - Whitey Kaufman & His Original Pennsylvania Serenaders
Second recording:
Charleston Cabin (1924) - Carolina Club Orchestra

The Fess Williams version, recorded in 1927:
Gambler's Blues (1927) - Fess Williams
I really like this one, it adds a comical touch to the song.

Here's Buell Kazee's version, recorded in 1929:
Gambling Blues (1929) - Buell H. Kazee
His version has a different tune and does not mention the name of the infirmary.

Here's Roy Harvey's version, recorded in 1931:
Gambling Blues (1931) - Roy Harvey
Seems to be a cover of Kazee's version.

Now here's a treat, the Hokum Boys version, recorded in two variants in 1929:
Gambler's Blues (1929) - The Hokum Boys
Gambler's Blues No. 2 (1929) - The Hokum Boys
This is my favourite version, I love it! I only wish the recording was a little less noisy, but what can you do.

Here's Mattie Hite's version, recorded in 1930:
St. Joe's Infirmary (1930) - Mattie Hite
Another fantastic early version. I slowed it down slightly, I always thought that the original recording was a little too fast.

Now here's a field recording of "St. James' Infirmary Blues" made by John A. Lomax in Atlanta, Georgia in 1934:
St. James Infirmary (1934) - Jesse Wadley
Pretty interesting version, it has the rare "shot down by a big cannonball" verse which is also found in the Hokum Boys version.

Here's Sam Hinton's version, recorded in 1947:
St. James Infirmary (1947) - Sam Hinton
I like this recording for some reason. Not as over-the-top as many other versions. It also has the "cannonball" verse, but I don't know the origin of Hinton's text.

And finally, here's Dock Boggs' version, recorded in 1965:
Old Joe's Barroom (1965) - Dock Boggs
Can't say that I'm a big fan of this one, but I never expected to hear Dock Boggs sing this song, so out of curiousity I decided to include it.

That's all, I tried to include some of the lesser known recordings, so no Louis Armstrong for now. Maybe some of you will discover a nice version they haven't heard before.

Have fun!