Songfacts®:

• Appearances can be deceptive, so can song titles. Rather than being a charming ditty about a little bird, this song from Man Of La Mancha goes hand in hand with a rape scene. The musical, written by composer Mitch Leigh with lyrics by Joe Darion, is based on a 1959 TV play I, Don Quixote by Dale Wasserman, but of course the hero of the piece who is remembered universally for tilting at windmills was created way back by the Spanish literary giant Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616).
• The original Broadway production of Man Of La Mancha opened in 1965 and ran for 2,328 performances. The unfortunate victim - the little bird - is Aldonza, who is beaten, raped and kidnapped. In some later productions, the violence is quite realistic.
• "Little Bird, Little Bird" is performed first in the courtyard of an inn by the muleteers; the second rendition is, as stated, more dramatic, although in the 1972 film version the rape scene was omitted, and an instrumental version of the song substituted. >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 3