"The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze", originally published under the title "The Flying Trapeze" and also known as "The Man on the Flying Trapeze", is a 19th-century popular song about a flying trapezecircus performer, Jules Léotard.[1] The refrain states:
He'd fly through the air with the greatest of ease,
That daring young man on the flying trapeze.
The song was first published in 1867, with words written by the British lyricist and singer George Leybourne, music by Gaston Lyle, and arrangement by Alfred Lee. The lyrics were based on the phenomenal success of trapeze artist Jules Léotard, for whom the one-piece dancer's garment was named.[1]
A version preceding the Fields film was performed by the Our Gang (Little Rascals) kids as the International Silver String Submarine Band in the 1934 short film Mike Fright. A second Our Gang rendition, by Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, was later included in the 1939 short Clown Princes.
In the 1936 film Bengal Tiger, a group of the circus performers sing the song together in a bar after a performance.
In the 1952 film Phone Call from a Stranger, a group of passengers on an airplane sing the song together during turbulence.
In the 1954 film The Bridges at Toko-Ri the USS Savo Island's band plays the refrain while Mickey Rooney's character (CPO Mike Forney) is being transferred via highline to a ship alongside.
The song was performed by young children in the Technicolor 1934 Vitaphone short Show Kids, written by Joe Traub and directed by Ralph Staub.
In the 1997 film George of the Jungle the song plays as the title character swings on jungle vines.
There is also a short sequence in the 2013 film The Lone Ranger, where the song is played as background music when the heroes of the movie go to a traveling carnival with a brothel.
The song was featured in The Cuphead Show! episode Roll the Dice, and is revealed to be Cuphead's favorite song.
^"Flying Trapeze". Archived from the original(Copy of Lyrics from a July 11, 1874 Broadside from the National Library of Scotland) on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-21.