St. James Rising

I went down to Old Joe’s bar room
at the corner of the square
They were serving up the drinks as usual,
the usual crowd was there

In the corner was my old friend Henry
His eyes was bloodshot red
He turned to the crowd standing around –
this is what he said:

(He said) I went down to St. James infirmary
to see my baby there
She was lying on a long white table,
so cold, so pale, so fair.

Well let her go, let her go, let her go now,
wherever she may be –
You can search the whole world over,
you’ll never find a better man than me
(that’s what he said).

My mother was a gambler,
riding all around the town –
My father was a tailor man,
he sewed my new nightgown

You know that there is a house in New Orleans
they call the Rising Sun
And it’s been the ruin of many a poor girl
and God I know I’m one –
God I know I’m one

*Go on and tell my baby sister
not to do what I have done
Don’t spend your life in sin and misery
in the House of the Rising Sun

Gonna jump off the cliffs of Dover,
gonna drown in the deep blue sea
You can search the whole world over
and you’ll never find another,
better lovin’ woman than me,
than me.