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Refugee Blues
Say this city has ten million souls, Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes: Yet there's no place for us, my dear, yet there's no place for us. Once we had a country and we thought it fair. Look in the atlas and you'll find it there: We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now. In the village churchyard there grows an old yew, Every spring it blossoms anew: Old passports can't do that, my dear, old passports can't do that. The consul banged the table and said. "If you've got no passport you're officially dead": But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive. Went to a committee; they offered me a chair, Asked me politely to return next year: But where shall we go to-day, my dear, but where shall we go to-day? Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said, "If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread" He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me. Thought I heard the thunder rumbling in the sky, It was Hitler over Europe, saying, "They must die" O we were in his mind, my dear, O we were in his mind. Saw a poodie in a jacket fastened with a pin, Saw a door opened and a cat let in: But they weren't German Jews, my dear, but they weren't German Jews. Went down the harbour and stood upon the quay. Saw the fish swimming as if they were free: Only ten feet away, my dear, only ten feet away. Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the trees; They had no politicians and sang at their ease: They weren't the human race, my dear, they weren't the human race. Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors, A thousand windows and a thousand doors: Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours. Stood on a great plain in the falling snow, Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro: Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me. WH Auden.
This city has ten million people, some live in big houses, some in small, poor places: But there's no place for us, my dear, no place for us. We once had a country and thought it was fair. You can find it on the map: But we can't go there now, my dear, we can't go there now. In the village cemetery, an old yew tree grows, it blooms every spring: Old passports can't do that, my dear, old passports can't do that. The consul slammed the table and said, "Without a passport, you're officially dead": But we're still alive, my dear, we're still alive. I went to a committee; they offered me a seat, and asked me to come back next year: But where can we go today, my dear, where can we go today? At a public meeting, the speaker said, "If we let them in, they'll take our jobs": He was talking about us, my dear, about us. I thought I heard thunder in the sky, it was Hitler over Europe, saying, "They must die": We were on his mind, my dear, we were on his mind. I saw a dog in a coat held with a pin, saw a door open and a cat let in: But they weren't German Jews, my dear, they weren't German Jews. I went to the harbor and stood on the dock. I saw fish swimming freely: Just ten feet away, my dear, just ten feet away. I walked through the woods, saw birds in the trees; they had no politicians and sang freely: They weren't human, my dear, they weren't human. I dreamed of a building with a thousand floors, a thousand windows, and a thousand doors: Not one was ours, my dear, not one was ours. I stood on a vast plain in the snow, ten thousand soldiers marched back and forth: Looking for us my dear, looking for us.