The song's co-writer Mike Campbell said "Refugee" was one of the first songs he wrote, and recounted, 'I just wrote the music and handed it to Tom [Petty] and he put the words over it, and when he did he found a way to make the chorus lift up without changing chords.'[5]
In a November 2003 interview with Songfacts, Campbell described the recording sessions for "Refugee":
That was a hard record to make. It was a 4-track that I made at my house. He (Tom Petty) wrote over the music as it was, no changes, but it took us forever to actually cut the track. We just had a hard time getting the feel right. We must have recorded that 100 times.
I remember being so frustrated with it one day that - I think this is the only time I ever did this - I just left the studio and went out of town for two days. I just couldn't take the pressure anymore, but then I came back and when we regrouped we were actually able to get it down on tape.[6]
Billboard described "Refugee" as being "Petty at his best," specifically praising the "gutsy rock vocal and searing guitar lines."[7]Cash Box said it has "growing interplay between guitar and organ, coupled with Petty’s forceful vocals."[8]Record World called it a "perfect union of power and passion."[9]
Reception
"Refugee" is widely regarded as one of Petty's best songs. In 2017, Billboard ranked the song number 10 on their list of the 20 greatest Tom Petty songs,[10] and in 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the song number two on their list of the 50 greatest Tom Petty songs.[11]
^Svonavec, Samuel (October 4, 2017). "Tom Petty: Legacy of a Rock Legend". Retrieved March 26, 2024. The band went on to pioneer the heartland rock sound with songs such as "Mary Jane's Last Dance," "Refugee," and countless others.
^Joel Whitburn, Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles: 1955–2010, Record Research, 2011.
^Covach, John (2005), "Form in Rock Music: A Primer", in Stein, Deborah, Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis, New York: Oxford University Press, p.74-75, ISBN0-19-517010-5 .
