"Feed the Birds" was the first song that the Sherman brothers (Richard and Robert) wrote for Mary Poppins and, according to Richard Sherman, was the heart beat of the entire movie. Walt Disney called a meeting with the Sherman Brothers so they could play what they had written for the movie. After they had played all the songs and explained to Walt how they thought the story could go, Walt said, "Play that Bird Lady song again." After Richard had played and sung it for him, Walt replied, "Yep, that's what it's all about, isn't it?" After this meeting, Walt put the Sherman Brothers under contact to develop the score for the movie, as they weren't under contract at first.
Another touching story is shared by Richard Sherman who, along with his brother Robert, wrote the music for Mary Poppins. Although Walt Disney never told the Sherman Brothers what his favorite song was from the movie, Richard Sherman recalls that there were many evenings when he, Robert, and Walt Disney were all working late. On some of those occasions, Walt would call them into his office and say, simply, "Play it." Richard knew Walt meant the song "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins. So Richard would sing and play the song for Walt.
On December 5th, 2001 at the re-dedication ceremony of the Partners Statue for Walt's 100th birthday on Main Street at Disneyland, Richard Sherman was asked to play a couple of songs. After doing so, Richard then said "I'm now going to play Walt Disney's favorite song and it's just for him." He then played, "Feed the Birds." When he was finished he blew a kiss to the statue and got off stage. He was told afterwards that out of the clear blue sky, a single bird flew directly by his piano and then back up to the clouds. Richard was moved by that and said, "That was Walt, saying 'thanks.'"
A video of that day showing a bird flying down as Richard Sherman was playing that song can be found on the bonus material (Backstage Disney, The Making of Mary Poppins) of the Mary Poppins 40th Anniversary Edition 2-disc DVD.
Here's a condensed version:
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