Cover Me: The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze

Add this one near the top of “Songs Least Likely to Be Covered by Bruce Springsteen.”

First published in 1867, “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze” was written by George Leybourne and Gaston Lyle based on the exploits of trapeze artist Jules Leotard.

First recorded by Walter O’Keefe in 1932, the song did a slow burn before becoming a hit in 1934. But once it did, “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze” embedded itself in popular culture, inspiring a 1934 short story by William Saroyan and a 1935 film with W.C. Fields.

Many artists covered “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze” over the ensuing years: Eddie Cantor, Burl Ives, Bing Crosby to name just a few. In later years, though, the song grew dated and fell out of fashion.

Until 2006, that is, when Bruce Springsteen dusted it off for his Americana-based Seeger Sessions Tour.

Although Bruce and the Sessions Band rehearsed the song before the tour even started (and even played it at a public rehearsal show), “The Daring Young Man  on the Flying Trapeze” didn’t debut properly until the final show of the tour’s American leg, in Holmdel, New Jersey.

Although their arrangement was traditional, Bruce found the wry, sarcastic humor at the heart of the song and… well, let’s say he salted the lyrics a bit.

Bruce went on to perform “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze” once more–in London that autumn. We haven’t heard from that daring young man since.

The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze
First performed: April 26, 2006 (Asbury Park, NJ)
Last performed: November 12, 2006 (London, England)