Believe it or not, Song To A Refugee – the new album from Nashville-based country singer-songwriter Diana Jones – owes its existence to Oscar-winning British actress Emma Thompson. It’s a sorrowful and powerful record that addresses the plight of those crossing the US-Mexico border, but without the film star who has appeared in films including Love Actually, The Remains Of The Day, Sense and Sensibility, and the Harry Potter series, it might not have even been created.

On her official website, Jones describes how the album came to be: “The devastating election of 2016 had left me and many of my artist friends unable to respond creatively. During the spring of 2018 I landed back in New York after a tour with no new songs. I had admired Emma Thompson’s work as an artist and a humanitarian forever. After randomly bumping into each other twice in a park near my apartment we had lunch and Emma told me about her work with refugees and the Helen Bamber Foundation.

“I don’t think anyone could have called me out of my writer’s block the way Emma did and I began to write the stories that I found so devastating -- one voice at a time resulting in a flood of songs.”

Jones was herself adopted as a child and raised in New York City before she traced her birth family – and her musical roots – to Tenessee. Her 2006 album My Remembrance Of You received widespread acclaim and was named “the best country recording” of 2006 by the Chicago Tribune, but she hadn’t released an album since 2013’s Museum of Appalachia Recordings.

El Chaparral is a gentle introduction to her latest volume, combining harmonica with a simple acoustic guitar, while title track Song To A Refugee is gloriously folksy, with slow, mournful violin perfectly complementing the exquisite vocals. Steve Earle, Richard Thompson and Peggy Seeger appear on new single We Believe You, and its a contender for the best song here, a vivid lament that combines the additional vocals with Jones’ own beautifully, creating a tapestry of storytelling.

Santiago has a hypnotic quality that, in truth, permeates much of the album, while Humble sees Jones flex her vocals into new shapes, with an absorbing effect. But this is an exceptionally even album, and picking tracks out isn’t easy. I suspect Jones would rather we focus on the album’s message, which is delivered through consistently insightful, impactful and honest lyrics, and at all times beautifully complimented, musically and vocally.

Listen to the official audio for We Believe You here.

Song To A Refugee tracklist:

1. El Chaparral

2. I Wait For You

3. Song To A Refugee

4. We Believe You

5. Mama Hold Your Baby

6. Santiago

7. Ask A Woman

8. The Life I Left Behind

9. Where We Are

10. Humble

11. Love Song To A Bird

12. The Sea Is My Mother

13. The Last Words

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.