The Man On The Flying Trapeze
Spike Jones His City Slickers Lyrics

Once I was happy but now I'm forlorn
I used to be happy but now I'm sad

Like an old coat that is tattered and torn
I feel worn out and damaged

Left in this wide world to weep and to mourn
I feel alone and sad

Betrayed by a maid in her teens
The girl I loved who was young betrayed me

Oh, this maid that I loved she was handsome
I loved this girl who was beautiful

And I tried all I knew, her to please
I did everything I could to make her happy

But I never could please her one quarter so well
I could never please her as much as the man on the flying trapeze

As the man on the flying trapeze!
This man on the trapeze could please her more than I ever could

He floats thro' the air with the greatest of ease
The man on the trapeze is very skilled and graceful

The daring young man on the flying trapeze
This man is brave and takes risks performing on the trapeze

His actions are graceful, all girls he does please
Many women are attracted to him because of his graceful movements

And my love he has stolen away
This man stole the girl I loved from me

He'd play with a miss like a cat with a mouse
He would toy with women like a cat plays with a mouse

His eyes would undress every maid in the house
He would look at every girl in a way that made them feel exposed

Perhaps he is better described as a louse
He is more like a parasite

But still people came just the same
Despite his bad behavior, people still liked him

He'd smile on the bar to the people below
While performing on the trapeze, he would smile at the audience below

And one night he smiled on my love
One night, he smiled at the girl I loved

She blew him a kiss and she hollered "Bravo"!
She blew him a kiss and cheered him on

As he hung by his nose up above!
He was performing a difficult stunt while hanging by his nose

I wept and I whimpered I simpered for weeks
I cried and felt sorry for myself for a long time after she left

While she spent her time the with the circuses freaks
She spent time with the other performers who were odd or unusual

The tears were like hailstones that rolled down my cheeks
I cried so much that it felt like hailstones were rolling down my face

Alas and alack and Alaska
Expressing sadness and regret, and the use of alliteration with the letter A

I went to this fellow the blackguard and said
I went to the man who stole my love and called him a scoundrel

I'll see that you get your deserts
I'll make sure you're punished for what you did

His thumb to his nose he put up with a sneer
He made a rude gesture at me and sneered

He sneered once again and said "Nortz" Oh!
He sneered and made a sound expressing dismissal or disapproval

One night to his tent he invited her in
He invited her to his tent one night

Filled her with compliments and kisses and gin
He praised her and gave her alcohol before taking advantage of her

That started her off on the road to ruin
This began a path of self-destruction for her

She made the supreme sacrifice
She gave up a lot, probably including her dignity and reputation

But even tho' I loved her I said "Take my name
Despite what she did, I still loved her and offered to help her

I'll gladly forgive and forget!"
I am willing to forgive her and move on

She rustled her bustle and then without shame she said
She moved quickly and nervously and then said without embarrassment

"Maybe later , not yet"! Oh!
She declined my offer, expressing that she may be willing to accept later

One night I as usual went to her dear home
I went to her home as I usually did

Found there her father and mother alone
I found only her parents at home

I asked for my love and soon t'was made known
I asked for her and found out that she had run away

To my horror that she'd run away
I was shocked and upset to find out she had left

Without any trousseau she fled in the night
She left without packing any belongings

With him with the greatest of ease
She had left with the man on the trapeze

From two stories high he had lowered her down
He had helped her escape by lowering her down from a high place

To the ground on his flying trapeze!
He used his trapeze skills to help her escape

Some months after that I went into the hall
Some time later, I went to a hall

To my surprise I found there on the wall
To my surprise, there was a poster on the wall

A bill in red letters which did my heart gall
The poster was painful to see and made me upset

That she was appearing with him
She was performing with the man who stole her from me

He'd taught her gymnastics and dressed her in tights
He had trained her in acrobatics and put her in revealing clothing

To help him to live at his ease
She was helping him make a living by performing with him

He'd made her assume a masculine name
He had her use a male name to perform

And now she goes on the trapeze!
She is now performing on the trapeze and living a different life

You'd think her a man on the flying trapeze
She looks like a man while performing on the trapeze

And that's what's become of my love
This is what has happened to the girl I loved