I really have always loved this song so much that I have mixed emotions about her cover version. I didn't like it at first but to read her explantion of why she did it really hit close to my home. Please give it a listen off of her site and comment.

I am all for it..think its great...I have always like Melissa and if she wants to cover Tom all the better.

Anytime a song can reach out and touch you it's good.Now I like Tom's version better but that's just me........If she can breath new life into the song and it helps others feel good than that's cool too. Melissa has a great voice. I always liked "Somebody Bring Me Some Water".

Wow! I think she did a great job with a great song--very powerful. It made me think about the song in a whole new way considering what Melissa has been through. Thanks for sharing this, laceytom!

amazing! of course tom's is better but I have to give it to melissa!!! I thought that totally rocked. The same song but I got a totally different feeling from the song than I get with tom's version. Seems darker!

Haven't heard it yet, but it makes perfect sense that she of all people would cover it. I always thought it could easily be translated as a kind of homosexual anthem, which I think is cool if she could pull it off. Of course, there's the possibility that she doesn't mean it to be that way at all, but I think it's most probably a factor.

Okay, I just heard it.

Wow -- I am thoroughly impressed. I've never been a big fan of Melissa Ethridge, but I really have to say, that was a killer cover of "Refugee". I love the dark acoustic guitars. I think, maybe, that the song might even have been a little better if they just left it acoustic and didn't rock it up. It was really good though. I'm impressed.

it was ok but i still like the original better

Oh. WOW. Great cover.

Nice! I liked it. I have always dug her and her voice.

YUCK SHE BUTCHERED IT I THINK HER VOICE IS TERRIBLE IT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO BE DONE

Cool! Thanks for posting that.

Not a Melissa fan, but considering she has a certain level of prestige in the music industry and she wants to cover a Tom song, I feel on our end it's flattering.

i like it a lot. reminds me a little bit of the acoustic version Tom and the HB did at the 1988 Bridge School Benefit.

dug it...

Wow, I really like it.

I liked it -- but I am a very big fan of Melissa anyway -- if you arent familiar try the Brave and Crazy CD -- I prefer the Tom version but I am a creature of habit and often like originals better than covers . . . just a thing about me I guess.

And I think its more about her fight with breast cancer than the lesbian thing -- read the little paragraph about why shes covering it.

Ah, didn't know she had breast cancer. That's how far out of the loop I am. She's made such a career out of producing lesbian anthems, I figured "Refugee" would just be her latest addition on that front. But it works either way, because it's just so desperate and empowering at the same time. I really loved how she replaced the word "burned" with "cursed".

Again, I've never liked Melissa Ethridge, but this is really good.

I am in heaven! Melissa is my favorite after TPHB