This song was initially published as "The Flying Trapeze" but it was later frequently called "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze" which is a phrase from the song's chorus. The song was inspired by the French trapeze artist Jules Léotard (1838-1870) who largely developed the concept of trapeze and the style of act with which we are now familiar. He toured Europe with his trapeze act, and gave his name to his close-fitting one piece costume. The song was sung by music hall artist George Leybourne (1842-1884) who also wrote the lyrics. The music was composed by Gaston Lyle and this arrangement by Alfred Lee (1839–1906) was first published in 1867. The song's melody is a waltz and this version has the chorus in optional 4-part harmony for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass voices. It has been recorded by many artists and is still familiar to many people today.
The sheet music will be visible below and the audio playback in the midi and mp3 files is illustrated with the vocal part replaced by a clarinet (2 clarinets and 2 bassoons for the chorus). You can also download the sheet music, midi and mp3 files using the links in the left-hand menu.
Another music hall song based on a real person is The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo.
The audio controls below allow you to play the mp3 version of The Flying Trapeze (piano/vocal) or you can download the MP3 file. You can also download the midi version of The Flying Trapeze (piano/vocal).
The image below is the first page of the sheet music, and here you can download the full sheet music for The Flying Trapeze (piano/vocal) in PDF format.
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