Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag
Encyclopedia
"Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag, and Smile, Smile, Smile" is the full name of a World War I
marching song, published in 1915 in London
. It was written by George Henry Powell
under the pseudonym of "George Asaf", and set to music by his brother Felix Powell
. A play presented by the National Theatre
recounts how these music hall
stars rescued the song from their rejects pile and re-scored it to win a wartime competition for a marching song
. It became very popular, boosting British morale despite the horrors of that war. It was one of a large number of music hall
songs aimed at maintaining morale, recruiting for the forces, or defending Britain's war aims.
Full lyrics are here.
was a popular make of match
, and "fag" remains British slang for a cigarette
. A kit-bag (also known as a duffle bag) is a large cylindrical canvas or heavy-duty cotton bag, with a flat base and punched holes round the other end for tying with a draw string. It is generally carried balanced on one shoulder, with a hand held up to steady it. It was the traditional means of carrying personal equipment (bedding, clothing etc) in both the army and navy in both world wars and for some time afterwards.
The Spanish version
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
marching song, published in 1915 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It was written by George Henry Powell
George Henry Powell
George Henry Powell was a Welsh songwriter who, under the pseudonym George Asaf, wrote the lyrics of the marching song Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag in 1915....
under the pseudonym of "George Asaf", and set to music by his brother Felix Powell
Felix Powell
Felix Lloyd Powell was a British Staff Sergeant most famous for writing the music for marching song "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile", in 1915...
. A play presented by the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
recounts how these music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
stars rescued the song from their rejects pile and re-scored it to win a wartime competition for a marching song
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
. It became very popular, boosting British morale despite the horrors of that war. It was one of a large number of music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
songs aimed at maintaining morale, recruiting for the forces, or defending Britain's war aims.
Lyrics
The song is best remembered for its chorus:- Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag,
- And smile, smile, smile,
- While you've a Lucifer to light your fag,
- Smile, boys, that's the style.
- What's the use of worrying?
- It never was worth while, so
- Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag,
- And smile, smile, smile.
Full lyrics are here.
Interpretation
A luciferLucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
was a popular make of match
Match
A match is a tool for starting a fire under controlled conditions. A typical modern match is made of a small wooden stick or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by frictional heat generated by striking the match against a suitable surface...
, and "fag" remains British slang for a cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
. A kit-bag (also known as a duffle bag) is a large cylindrical canvas or heavy-duty cotton bag, with a flat base and punched holes round the other end for tying with a draw string. It is generally carried balanced on one shoulder, with a hand held up to steady it. It was the traditional means of carrying personal equipment (bedding, clothing etc) in both the army and navy in both world wars and for some time afterwards.
In other languages
The Dutch version goes:- Pak al je zorgen in je plunjezak en fluit, fluit, fluit!
- Aan alle moeilijkheden heb je lak, fluit man en 't is uit!
- Waarom zou je treuren, het helpt je niet vooruit,
- Dus: pak al je zorgen in je plunjezak en fluit, fluit, fluit.
The Spanish version
- Guarda tus penas en el fondo del morral y rie ya!
- Ponte contento y así venceras la dificultad!
- Siempre estarás alegre, nunca triste estaras, jamás!
- Guarda tus penas en el fondo del morral y rie ya.!
Cultural references
- The title of Wilfred OwenWilfred OwenWilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War...
's bitter anti-war poem "Smile, Smile, Smile" (September 1918) was derived from the song. - In the 1932 comedy movie High Pressure, William PowellWilliam PowellWilliam Horatio Powell was an American actor.A major star at MGM, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the popular Thin Man series in which Powell and Loy played Nick and Nora Charles...
ends his "dynamic personality classes" by leading the salesmen in singing this song to pump up the product and stock (even though there is yet no product!) - The song was recalled in the title of the 1932 Laurel and HardyLaurel and HardyLaurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
film Pack Up Your TroublesPack Up Your TroublesPack Up Your Troubles is a 1932 Laurel and Hardy film directed by George Marshall and Raymond McCarey, named after the World War I song "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag, and smile, smile, smile." It is the team's second feature-length picture....
where the duo are drafted and make a friend who dies during the war, then in its aftermath try to reunite his orphaned baby daughter with her surviving family. - Clark GableClark GableWilliam Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
sings a line from the chorus in the 1936 Gable-Jean HarlowJean HarlowJean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
film Wife vs. SecretaryWife vs. SecretaryWife vs. Secretary is a comedy film directed and co-produced by Clarence Brown. It stars Clark Gable as a successful businessman, Jean Harlow as his secretary, and Myrna Loy as his wife, supported by May Robson as his mother and James Stewart, in one of his first memorable roles, as the...
. - The song was also used in the 1938 film The Shopworn AngelThe Shopworn AngelThe Shopworn Angel is a 1938 American drama film directed by H.C. Potter. The MGM release featured the second screen pairing of Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart following their successful teaming in the Universal Pictures production Next Time We Love two years earlier...
. Margaret SullavanMargaret SullavanMargaret Brooke Sullavan was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan started her career on the stage in 1929. In 1933 she caught the attention of movie director John M. Stahl and had her debut on the screen that same year in Only Yesterday...
, who plays Broadway singer Daisy Heath, performs the song in a special concert for World War I troops about to be shipped overseas. The song is also sung in the film's finale when Daisy is performing the number and learns that her soldier-husband, Bill Pettigrew (played by Jimmy StewartJames Stewart (actor)James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
), has been killed in action. - The song features prominently in the second assignment of Sapphire & SteelSapphire & SteelSapphire & Steel is a British television science-fiction fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J. Hammond who conceived the programme under the working title The...
, whistled by the ghost of a dead soldier. - In Hergé'sHergéGeorges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
Tintin in TibetTintin in TibetTintin in Tibet is the twentieth title in the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin, written and drawn by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Originally serialised from September 1958 in the French language magazine named after his creation, Le Journal de Tintin, it was then first published in book...
, Captain HaddockCaptain HaddockCaptain Archibald Haddock is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
sings "Pack up you troubles in your old kitbag and...." - The name of the 2003 Richard Thompson album The Old Kit BagThe Old Kit BagThe Old Kit Bag is an album released in 2003 by British guitarist Richard Thompson. The title refers to the World War I marching song "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag". When asked if the album had a theme, Thompson had no immediate answer, then said "I suppose the title is a theme of sorts...
hints at the song title but the album makes no explicit reference. When asked if the album had a theme, he had no immediate answer, then said "I suppose the title is a theme of sorts. It's a reference to the old World War I song, 'Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag,' which is about smiling and whistling a happy tune as the Germans rain shells down on you." - This song has been reprised by Minnutes in their 2009 album Pretty Baby, and was featured as the opening song for the season one finale episode of CastleCastle (TV series)Castle is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on ABC on March 9, 2009. The series is produced by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios. On January 10, 2011, Castle was renewed for a fourth season...
. - The song was played in the annual TV special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie BrownIt's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie BrownIt's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a 1966 American prime time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz....
. SnoopySnoopySnoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...
(dressed in his World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
flying ace regalia) dances to this song played by SchroederSchroeder- People :* Andreas Schroeder, a German-born Canadian poet, novelist, and nonfiction writer* Barbet Schroeder, a Swiss movie director and producer* Bill Schroeder, an American football player* Bill Schroeder , an American baseball player...
on his toy piano in a left-right-left marching pace while twirling his baton. - The song is featured in the beginning of the film, Darling LiliDarling LiliDarling Lili is a 1970 American musical film. The screenplay was written by William Peter Blatty and Blake Edwards, who also directed. The cast included Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, and Jeremy Kemp.-Plot:...
, sung by Julie AndrewsJulie AndrewsDame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
. - A version of the song is sung by Chuckie FinsterChuckie FinsterCharles "Chuckie" Crandall Finster is a fictional character from the Nickelodeon animated television series' Rugrats and All Grown Up!. He is Tommy Pickles' best friend and tritagonist . The character is voiced by Christine Cavanaugh...
in a musical episode of RugratsRugratsRugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series premiered on August 11, 1991, and aired its last episode on June 8, 2004....
. - A few lines of the chorus sung by Lloyd WadeLloyd WadeLloyd Wade from South London, is a Gospel music and R&B singer. He achieved some fame in the UK Christian music scene performing with his brothers Denis, Derek and David in the group The Wades in the 1990s, including a set at Champion of the World in Wembley Stadium in 1997.He was working as a...
are used in Eliza DoolittleEliza DoolittleEliza Sophie Caird , better known by her stage name Eliza Doolittle, is an English singer–songwriter from London, who signed to the Parlophone record label in October 2008. Her debut self-titled album, Eliza Doolittle was released on 12 July 2010, where it debuted at number 3 in the UK...
's song "Pack UpPack Up"Pack Up" is the second single from British singer–songwriter Eliza Doolittle, taken from her debut album Eliza Doolittle. It was released on 5 July 2010. The song lyrics contain the title of the 1915 song "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag". Lloyd Wade sings the main hook with Doolittle...
" (2010). - The song is also referenced in "Meet Kit" from the American Girl series. The book was written by Valerie TrippValerie TrippValerie Tripp is a children's book author, best known for her work with the American Girl series.She grew up in Mount Kisco, New York with three sisters....
and published in 2001. It is also referenced in the movie Kit Kittredge: An American GirlKit Kittredge: An American GirlKit Kittredge: An American Girl is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by Patricia Rozema. The screenplay by Ann Peacock focuses on the American Girl character Kit Kittredge, who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio during the Great Depression...
(2008).