Refugee (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)

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]

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]

• Tom Petty – lead vocal, rhythm guitar
• Mike Campbell – lead guitar
• Ron Blair – bass
• Stan Lynch – drums, backing vocal
• Benmont Tench – organ, backing vocal
• Jim Keltner - samba shaker^[12]

"Refugee" was covered by Melissa Etheridge in 2005 for her album Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled, and reached No. 96 in the Billboard Pop 100 chart.^{[citation needed]} Other versions have been recorded by Vains of Jenna, Alvin and the Chipmunks,^[13] and the Gaslight Anthem.^[14]