Refugee Blues Refugee Blues "Refugee Blues" is a poem by W. H. Auden, written in 1939, one of a number of poems Auden wrote in the mid- to late-1930s in blues and other popular metres, for example the meter he used in his love poem "Calypso", written around the same time. The poem dramatizes the condition of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany in the years before World War II, especially the indifference and antagonism they faced when seeking asylum in the democracies of the period. In some later editions of Auden's poetry, the poem is not identified by name but is the
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