Refugee Blues - WH Auden
Background
- Poem was written at start of WWII
- At this time, the Nazi’s were in power in Germany
- The Nazi’s hates Jewish people and blamed them for losing WWII and
Germany’s money problems
- They made life very difficult and dangerous for Jewish people by:
- Preventing them from having jobs or running businesses,
- Often imprisoning them for no reason
- Making them victims of vicious attacks
- Consequently, many Jewish people fled to other countries, like Britain
- They were seeking refuge (safety)
Refugee Blues: Analysis
- Blues were a popular form of music at the time and it is known for its
emotional intensity and is critical of society
- The poem is influenced by blues in different ways:
1. The rhythm and rhyme scheme is similar to that used in blues
music (First two lines of each stanza rhyme and then the last
line is seen as a reply and does not rhyme)
2. The third line in the stanza is a repeated phrase
3. The poem has emotional intensity and is also similar in that it is
critical of society
4. It mimics the tone and mood of blues music, which is loneliness,
sadness, and even sorrow or mourning.
- The speaker is a Jewish refugee who has escaped from Germany during the
war.
- This is a powerful protest poem with a strong political message:
- Refugees need respect and protection and they are people just like
everybody else, no matter what religion they are, or what language
they speak.
- Relevant today as there are many refugees today who still seek safety and
protection in Britain but have to cope with being treated badly.
, A Say this city has ten million souls,
A Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes:
B Yet there’s no place for us, my dear, yet there’s no place for us.
B Once we had a country and we thought it fair,
B Look in the atlas and you’ll find it there:
C We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now.
D In the village churchyard there grows an old yew,
D Every spring it blossoms anew;
E Old passports can’t do that, my dear, old passports can’t do that.
F The consul banged the table and said:
F ‘If you’ve got no passport, you’re officially dead’;
G But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive.
H Went to a committee; they offered me a chair;
H Asked me politely to return next year:
I But where shall we go today, my dear, but where shall we go today?
J Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said:
J ‘If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread’;
K He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me.
L Thought I heard the thunder rumbling in the sky;
L It was Hitler over Europe, saying: ‘They must die’;
M We were in his mind, my dear, we were in his mind.
N Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin,
N Saw a door opened and a cat let in:
O But they weren’t German Jews, my dear, but they weren’t German Jews.
P Went down the harbour and stood upon the quay,
P Saw the fish swimming as if they were free:
Q Only ten feet away, my dear, only ten feet away.
R Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the trees;
R They had no politicians and sang at their ease:
S They weren’t the human race, my dear, they weren’t the human race.
T Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors,
T A thousand windows and a thousand doors;
U Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours.
V Stood on a great plain in the falling snow;
V Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro:
W Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me.
Background
- Poem was written at start of WWII
- At this time, the Nazi’s were in power in Germany
- The Nazi’s hates Jewish people and blamed them for losing WWII and
Germany’s money problems
- They made life very difficult and dangerous for Jewish people by:
- Preventing them from having jobs or running businesses,
- Often imprisoning them for no reason
- Making them victims of vicious attacks
- Consequently, many Jewish people fled to other countries, like Britain
- They were seeking refuge (safety)
Refugee Blues: Analysis
- Blues were a popular form of music at the time and it is known for its
emotional intensity and is critical of society
- The poem is influenced by blues in different ways:
1. The rhythm and rhyme scheme is similar to that used in blues
music (First two lines of each stanza rhyme and then the last
line is seen as a reply and does not rhyme)
2. The third line in the stanza is a repeated phrase
3. The poem has emotional intensity and is also similar in that it is
critical of society
4. It mimics the tone and mood of blues music, which is loneliness,
sadness, and even sorrow or mourning.
- The speaker is a Jewish refugee who has escaped from Germany during the
war.
- This is a powerful protest poem with a strong political message:
- Refugees need respect and protection and they are people just like
everybody else, no matter what religion they are, or what language
they speak.
- Relevant today as there are many refugees today who still seek safety and
protection in Britain but have to cope with being treated badly.
, A Say this city has ten million souls,
A Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes:
B Yet there’s no place for us, my dear, yet there’s no place for us.
B Once we had a country and we thought it fair,
B Look in the atlas and you’ll find it there:
C We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now.
D In the village churchyard there grows an old yew,
D Every spring it blossoms anew;
E Old passports can’t do that, my dear, old passports can’t do that.
F The consul banged the table and said:
F ‘If you’ve got no passport, you’re officially dead’;
G But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive.
H Went to a committee; they offered me a chair;
H Asked me politely to return next year:
I But where shall we go today, my dear, but where shall we go today?
J Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said:
J ‘If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread’;
K He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me.
L Thought I heard the thunder rumbling in the sky;
L It was Hitler over Europe, saying: ‘They must die’;
M We were in his mind, my dear, we were in his mind.
N Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin,
N Saw a door opened and a cat let in:
O But they weren’t German Jews, my dear, but they weren’t German Jews.
P Went down the harbour and stood upon the quay,
P Saw the fish swimming as if they were free:
Q Only ten feet away, my dear, only ten feet away.
R Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the trees;
R They had no politicians and sang at their ease:
S They weren’t the human race, my dear, they weren’t the human race.
T Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors,
T A thousand windows and a thousand doors;
U Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours.
V Stood on a great plain in the falling snow;
V Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro:
W Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me.
