The song was written specifically for the musical by Rogers and Hammerstein in 1959. As a matter of fact, it was even played by Ronald Reagan in 1984 to honor Austrian President Rudolph Kirschlager and his wife when they visited. You can understand the giggles Maria had when this happened, and she shared that humorous story in her interview. Okay, two final things. The RIA Maria Bont Trop was very intriguing. She was born on a train, and her parents died when she was ten