{"id":13286,"date":"2021-10-26T13:25:21","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T13:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=13286"},"modified":"2025-12-23T08:23:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T08:23:02","slug":"pack-up-your-troubles-in-your-old-kit-bag","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/pack-up-your-troubles-in-your-old-kit-bag\/","title":{"rendered":"Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
First Published<\/td>1915<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>George Asaf \/ Felix Powell<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN24977<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Florrie Forde<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Hart, Bob; England: Suffolk: 1975-78
Hall, Mabs; England: Sussex: 1989<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Private Perks is a funny little codger,\nWith a smile, a funny smile\nFive feet none, he's an artful little dodger\nWith a smile, a sunny smile\nFlush or broke, he'll have his little joke\nHe can't be suppressed\nAll the other fellows have to grin\nWhen he gets this off his chest.\n\n'Hi, pack up your troubles in your old kit bag\nAnd smile, smile, smile\nWhile you've a lucifer to light your fag\nSmile boys, that's the style\nWhat's the use of worrying?\nIt never was worth while\nSo, pack up your troubles in your old kit bag\nAnd smile, smile, smile.'<\/em>\n\nPrivate Perks went a marching into Flanders\nWith his smile, his funny smile\nHe was loved by the privates and commanders\nFor his smile, his sunny smile\nWhen a throng of Germans came along\nWith a mighty swing\nPerks yelled out 'This little bunch is mine\nKeep your heads down, boys, and sing.\n\nPrivate Perks came back from Bosche-shooting\nWith his smile, his funny smile\nRound his home he then set about recruiting\nWith his smile, his sunny smile\nHe told all his pals, the short, the tall\nWhat a time he'd had And as each enlisted like a man\nPrivate Perks said 'Now my lad,'\n<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Most associated in the British Music Halls with the singing of Florrie Forde<\/a>, Pack up your troubles <\/em>was a huge global hit, translated into many languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song was written and composed by George and Felix Powell (1879-1942), although George Powell (1875-1951) used the pseudonym George Asaf. The brothers had previously had some success as a Music Hall act in which Felix played the piano and George sang, but the success of this song catapulted them to a new level of fame. They had written the song some time previously, but rejected it as “piffle”. They pulled it out of a drawer labelled “duds” to have something to enter into a national competition for a rousing wartime song and were surprised when it won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song may have prompted a division between the brothers. George was a lifelong pacifist and conscientious objector. He hated the way the song was used as a rallying cry as thousands of young men were sent to their deaths. Felix on the other hand, signed up and served as a staff sergeant in the trenches. The horrors he saw there led Felix to a mental breakdown, and eventually he too would hate the song he had created. Felix committed suicide during financial difficulties in 1942, and his brother died a few years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been suggested that Wilfred Owen’s anti-war poem Smile Smile Smile<\/a> <\/em>was written in response to this song.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
As sung by Florrie Forde:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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