TRAV'LIN LIGHT - Free Jazz Leadsheet

“trav’lin light” is a popular song composed by Trummy Young, Jimmy Mundy, and Johnny Mercer in 1942. The first prominent recording was by Billie Holiday, with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, in the early 1940s. The tune became closely associated with Holiday’s smooth, wistful vocal style.

The lyrics evoke a sense of impermanence and journeying—“traveling light” both literally and metaphorically, with only a few possessions and even fewer emotional ties. Musically, the song is structured as a gentle swing ballad, with a flowing melody and subtle harmonic shifts that allow for both intimate vocal delivery and interpretive jazz instrumental treatments.