Funeral Blues read the poem in memory of Denholm Reynholm, before he is interrupted by the return of Reynholm's son, Douglas. Funeral Blues "Funeral Blues" or "Stop all the clocks" is a poem by W. H. Auden. An early version was published in 1936, but the poem in its final, familiar form was first published in "The Year's Poetry" (London, 1938). The first, and less widely known, version of the poem, written and published in 1936, has five stanzas; the 1938 final version has four. Only the first two stanzas are the same in both versions. The 1936 version was a satiric
The Ascent of F6 dedicated to Auden's geologist brother John Bicknell Auden who had taken part in an expedition near the Himalayan mountain K2. Auden personally invited Benjamin Britten to write the incidental music for the play. Britten composed the music in February 1937, the month of the play's first production, including a choral setting of "Stop all the clocks" (titled "Funeral Blues"). The play was first produced at the Mercury Theatre, London on 26 February 1937, with incidental music by Benjamin Britten conducted from the piano by Brian Easdale. Directed by Rupert Doone, the cast included William Devlin as Michael Ransom, Dorothy Holmes-Gore