{"id":1167,"date":"2020-02-24T13:28:42","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T13:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=1167"},"modified":"2025-12-18T07:13:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T07:13:20","slug":"the-man-on-the-flying-trapeze","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/the-man-on-the-flying-trapeze\/","title":{"rendered":"Man on the flying trapeze, The"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>The flying trapeze
The daring young man on the flying trapeze<\/td><\/tr>
Publication date<\/td>1866<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Lyrics<\/strong><\/td>George Leybourne<\/td>Music<\/strong><\/td>Alfred Lee <\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN5286<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Music Hall performers<\/strong><\/td>George Leybourne <\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Source Singers<\/strong>
Franklin, Edward 1907 England : Buckinghamshire
Greendale, J.S. 1912 USA
Wilbur, Mrs. Marie 1920 USA : Missouri
Devlin, Jennie 1936\/1938 USA : Massachusetts
Wood, Jane 1961 (14 May) USA : Arkansas <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
 \nOnce I was happy but now I'm forlorn\nLike an old coat that is tattered and torn\nLeft on this wide world to fret and to morn\nBetrayed by a maid in her teens\nThe girl that I loved she was hand-some\nI tried all I knew, her to please\nBut I could not please her one-quarter so well\nLike that man upon the trapeze.\n\nWhoa! He'd fly through the air with the greatest of ease\nA daring young man on the flying trapeze\nHis movements were graceful, all girls he could please\nAnd my love he's stolen away.<\/em>\n\nThis young man by name was Signor Bona Slang\nTall, big, and handsome, as well made as Chang\nWhere e're he appeared the Hall loudly rang\nWith ovation from all people there\nHe'd smile from the bar on the people below\nAnd one night he smiled on my love\nShe winked back at him and shouted \"Bravo\"\nAs he hung by his nose up above.\n\nHis father and Mother were both on my side\nAnd very hard tried to make her my own bride\nHer Father, he sighed and her Mother, she cried\nTo see her throw herself away\n\u2018Twas all no avail she went there every night\nAnd throw him bouquets on the stage\nWhich caused him to meet her, how he ran me down\nTo tell you would take a whole page.\n\nOne night as usual I went to her dear home\nFound there her Father and Mother alone\nI asked for my love and soon they made known\nTo my horror that she'd run away\nShe'd packed up her box and eloped in the night\nWith him, with the greatest of ease\nFrom two stories high he had lowered her down\nTo the ground on his flying trapeze.\n\nSome months after this I went to a Hall\nWas greatly surprised to see on the wall\nA bill in red letters that did my heart gall\nThat she was appearing with him\nHe taught her gymnastics and dressed her in tights\nTo help him to live at his ease\nAnd made her assume a masculine name\nAnd now she goes on the trapeze.\n\nWhoa! She floats through the air with the greatest of ease\nYou'd think her a man on the flying trapeze\nShe does all the work while he takes his ease\nAnd that's what's become of my love.<\/em> [final time only]<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
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George Leybourne<\/a> wrote the words and performed this well-known song to music composed by his regular contributor Alfred Lee . The song originally just had the title The Flying Trapeze<\/em>, which in modern times tends to be elongated to The daring young man on the flying trapeze. <\/em>It seems to be based on the activities of the infamous French trapeze artist Leotard or one off his many imitators – Leotard shocked audiences by performing without a safety net in the thrillingly skimpy outfit which later took his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Flying Trapeze<\/em> seems to have been popular ever since it was written. It appears in a number of collections of American “old-time and traditional” songs and has been collected from many traditional singers. In the 19th century it was widely published as officially sanctioned sheet music and in pirated form on both sides of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The Era – Sunday 25 November 1866<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
A recording or download of this song can be purchased from Windyridge CDs.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n