Funeral Blues and piano in a collection of settings of Auden poems under the title "Cabaret Songs". "Funeral Blues" is copyrighted by the Estate of W. H. Auden. According to The W. H. Auden Society, only Random House, Faber & Faber, and Curtis Brown Ltd. can give permission to reprint the text. It is the English contribution to the statue commemorating the Heysel Stadium disaster, where a retaining wall collapsed, resulting in 39 deaths on 29 May 1985, when Liverpool F.C. played Juventus FC in the European Cup final. The poem is read in its entirety in the 1994 British romantic comedy
Blues Funeral album as "deliciously callous but cursedly familiar" in its 6/10 review and added that it was "a record for ardent fans and not casual admirers." Jason Heller of The A.V. Club gave the album a C- rating, referring to the album as "a blatant and lackluster attempt to keep up with the times" and criticised its production "in which no note or texture is left digitally unprocessed." Pitchfork Media described "Blues Funeral" as "a mixed bag" and the songs as "many dirges that simply drag," but positively noted the album's influences and Lanegan's vocals ("almost invariably powerful on a sheer