Kate’s Songbook: Chapter 4
1 July 2022
In Chapter 4, Kate has escaped from Oran after doing something unwise and ends up at Oran’s civilian airport, where she’s taken into custody by the local gendarmes and turned over to Inspecteur Principal Agassiz of the Sûreté Nationale. Luckily for Kate, this isn’t the first time Agassiz has handcuffed her and they’ve played bad cop…
Anyway, she eventually sings Pack Up Your Troubles for him. Not the way it’s sung in the video, though; she treats it like a torch song.
George and Felix Powell wrote the song in 1915 for music hall. It was one of a number of popular music hall tunes aimed at raising morale or aiding recruiting during World War I. It’s been covered by a slew of singers (including the three ladies above). It survived through World War II and has even made it into a computer game or two.
Why a torch song? You’ll have to read Bluejay Rises to find out. Or you can grab the first seven chapters if you want a peek.
