“Feed The Birds” — Julie Andrews

“Feed The Birds”, from the Disney movie ‘Mary Poppins’, is the song, probably more than any other, which makes grown men spontaneously burst into tears for no apparent reason.

I don’t mind admitting I’m one of them.

“Feed The Birds” might well be the saddest song ever written…incredibly fragile and beautiful, but unremittingly sad…even though a quick scan of the lyrics wouldn’t make you think it was likely to have that effect.

That’s largely due to the songwriting skills of Robert and Richard Sherman, the names behind many of the most famous songs from Disney movies.

They had a great musical pedigree. Their grandfather was a violinist and their father a successful Tin Pan Alley songwriter in the 1920s and 30s. However, half-jokingly, it’s said that Al Sherman’s greatest musical accomplishment was fathering Robert and Richard Sherman, who would go on to write so many wonderful songs.

In addition to ‘Mary Poppins’, the Sherman Brothers (as they were usually referred to) wrote the scores for ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’, ‘ The Jungle Book’ (with the exception of the “Bare Necessities” song) ‘The Aristocats’ and many other popular films over their long careers in Hollywood.

Their songwriting track record is second to none, but everything the Sherman Brothers knew about writing a song came together in “Feed The Birds”. All the stars were in alignment the day they sat down at the piano to write that song.