| Pack Up Your Troubles | |
| Published: | 1915 |
| Genre: | March |
| Composer: | Felix Powell |
| Lyricist: | George Henry Powell |
"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 Welsh songwriter George Henry Powell under the pseudonym of "George Asaf", and set to music by his brother Felix Powell.[1] [2] The song is best remembered for its chorus.[3]
It was featured in the American show Her Soldier Boy, which opened in December 1916.[4]
Performers associated with this song include the Victor Military Band, James F. Harrison, Adele Rowland, Murray Johnson, Reinald Werrenrath, and the Knickerbocker Quartet.[5]
A later 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.[6] 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. Another of these songs, "It's a Long Way to Tipperary", was so similar in musical structure that the two were sometimes sung side by side.[7]
Florrie Forde performed it throughout the United Kingdom in 1916.[8]
Other performers associated with this song include Helen Clark, Reinald Werrenrath, and Oscar Seagle.[9]
Cilla Black performed the song as a comedy/singing sketch on her variety television series Surprise Surprise.
The original version was interpolated in and inspired the song "Pack Up" by English musician Eliza Doolittle.
The song appears in several films, including Varsity Show with Dick Powell, Pack Up Your Troubles (1932) with Laurel & Hardy, High Pressure (1932), and The Shopworn Angel (1938).[9] It is also featured in For Me and My Gal (1942) starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, and “On Moonlight Bay” with Gordon MacRae and Doris Day (1951). Tilly the Hippo sings a portion in Cats Don't Dance (1997).
The song also featured briefly in the 1979 film All That Jazz, sung between Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) and a hospital orderly. It was sung during a march in the 2010 film, Private Peaceful, based on the book by Michael Morpurgo.
The song is also played by Schroeder in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and in an episode of The Waltons.
In the Rugrats episode "Music", Chuckie sings this song.
It was also sung during the opening credits of the 1970 Blake Edwards film, Darling Lili, starring Julie Andrews.
In the second Sapphire & Steel serial (”The Railway Station") the tune is frequently used during the paranormal sequences involving military personnel (including a World War One soldier).