Complex sentence: The tune may have been based on Jacques Offenbach's "Le Papillon", Act 2, Scene 1: the lyrics were based on the phenomenal success of trapeze artist Jules Léotard.
Split into simpler sentences: The tune may have been based on Jacques Offenbach's "Le Papillon," Act 2, Scene 1. The lyrics were based on the phenomenal success of trapeze artist Jules Léotard.