Yellow ribbon
Encyclopedia
Earliest Evidence unearthed at Pompeii
The custom of tying a yellow ribbon around a tree to symbolize waiting love seems to go back at least as far as the days of Nero. A recently unearthed villa (thought to be that of Nero's wife) in Pompeii and covered by the Mt Vesuvius eruption of AD 79 contains a mural depicting a man standing at a tree with a yellow ribbon tied 'round it. ref: "Pompeii: Back from the Dead" a 2011 documentary by Paul Elston & Steffan Boje at 2 minutes 47 seconds into the film.Early Puritan history
The song/poem "She wore a yellow ribbon" has appeared in various forms for at least four centuries. It is based upon the same general theme: A woman of destiny is under some sort of test or trial as she waits for her beloved to return. Will she be true to him? This seems to be the lingering question and the basis for a great unfolding drama.The song appears to have been brought to America from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
by English settlers. The origin of the yellow ribbons seems likely to have come from out of the Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
heritage. It was during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
that the Puritan Army of English Parliament wore yellow ribbons and yellow sashes onto the battlefield.
"She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"
Yellow is the official color of the armor branch of the U.S. Army, used in insignia, etc., and depicted in Hollywood movies by the yellow neckerchiefNeckerchief
A neckerchief, necker or less commonly scarf is a type of neckwear associated with Scouts, cowboys and sailors. It consists of a triangular piece of cloth or a rectangular piece folded into a triangle. The long edge is rolled towards the point, leaving a portion unrolled...
adorning latter-half 19th century, horse-mounted U.S. Cavalry soldiers. However, a review of the U.S. War Department's Regulations for the Uniform and Dress of the Army of the United States (1872, 1898) reveals that a neckerchief, of any color, was not an item required by dress code. Despite this, neckerchiefs were a popular accessory employed by cavalrymen to cope with the frequently dusty environs. The specific association of the yellow neckerchief with the U.S. Cavalry may have arisen from a work of popular American West artist Frederic Remington
Frederic Remington
Frederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U. S...
—Lieutenant Powhatan H. Clarke, Tenth Cavalry (1888).
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military, the symbol of the yellow ribbon is used in a popular marching song. The first version copyrighted was the 1917 version by George A. Norton, which he titled Round Her Neck She Wears a Yeller Ribbon (For Her Lover Who Is Far, Far Away). While he tells in the song about the love between Susie Simpkins and her soldier lover Silas Hubbard, his chorus goes:
'Round her neck she wears a yeller ribbon,
She wears it in winter and the summer so they say,
If you ask her "Why the decoration?"
She'll say "It's fur my lover who is fur, fur away.
The lyrics were altered and the song was titled She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is a 1949 Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. The film was the second of Ford's trilogy of films focusing on the US Cavalry ; the other two films were Fort Apache and Rio Grande...
by Russ Morgan
Russ Morgan
Russ Morgan was a big band orchestra leader and musical arranger in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
for the 1949 movie of the same name. This was performed by several popular musicians of the 1940s, including Mitch Miller
Mitch Miller
Mitchell William "Mitch" Miller was an American musician, singer, conductor, record producer, A&R man and record company executive...
and The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...
. The Tanner Sisters recorded their version in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on December 30, 1949. It was released by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 9873.
The text of the Army version approximates the following, with local variations:
Around her hair she wore a yellow ribbon
She wore it in the springtime
In the merry month of May
And if you ask her why the heck she wore it
She wore it for her soldier who was far far away
Far away, far away
She wore it for her soldier
Who was far, far away
Around the block she pushed a baby carriage
She pushed it in the springtime
In the Merry month of May
And if you ask her why the heck she pushed it
She pushed it for her soldier who was far far away
Far away, far away
She pushed it for her soldier
Who was far, far away
Behind the door her daddy kept a shotgun
He kept it in the springtime
In the merry month of May
And if you ask him why the heck he kept it
He kept it for her soldier who was far far away
Far away, far away
He kept it for her soldier
Who was far, far away
On the grave she laid the pretty flowers
She laid them in the springtime
In the merry month of May
And if you asked her why the heck she laid them
She laid them for her soldier who was far far away
Far away, far away
She laid them for her soldier
Who was far, far away
"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree"
The symbol became widely known in civilian life in the 1970s. It was the central theme of the popular song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree", Written by Irwin LevineIrwin Levine
Irwin Levine is a composer who co-wrote the song Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree with L. Russell Brown.The song was a world-wide hit for Tony Orlando and Dawn as it reached number one on both the US and UK charts for four weeks in April 1973 and number one on the Australian charts for...
and L. Russell Brown
L. Russell Brown
L. Russell Brown is an American lyricist and composer most noted for his song, co-written with Irwin Levine, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" for the 1970s pop music group Tony Orlando and Dawn. He also wrote The Partridge Family 1971 song, I Woke Up In Love This Morning.-External...
and recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn was a pop music group that was popular in the 1970s. Their signature hits include "Candida", "Knock Three Times", "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", and "He Don't Love You ".-History:...
(among many others), as the sign a released convict requested from his wife or lover to indicate that she would welcome him home. He would be able to see it from the bus driving by their house, and would stay on the bus in the absence of the ribbon. He turned out to be very welcome: there were a hundred yellow ribbons.
From the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
:
- In October 1971, newspaper columnist Pete HamillPete HamillPete Hamill is an American journalist, novelist, essayist, editor and educator. Widely traveled and having written on a broad range of topics, he is perhaps best known for his career as a New York City journalist, as "the author of columns that sought to capture the particular flavors of New York...
wrote a piece for the New York PostNew York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
called "Going Home." In it, college students on a bus trip to the beaches of Fort Lauderdale make friends with an ex-convict who is watching for a yellow handkerchiefHandkerchiefA handkerchief , also called a handkercher or hanky, is a form of a kerchief, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric that can be carried in the pocket or purse, and which is intended for personal hygiene purposes such as wiping one's hands or face, or blowing one's nose...
on a roadside oak. Hamill claimed to have heard this story in oral tradition.
- In June 1972, nine months later, Reader's DigestReader's DigestReader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
reprinted "Going Home." Also in June 1972, ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
-TV aired a dramatized version of it in which James Earl JonesJames Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
played the role of the returning ex-con. A month-and-a-half after that, Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown registered for copyright a song they called "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree." The authors said they heard the story while serving in the military. Pete Hamill was not convinced and filed suit for infringement.
- One factor that may have influenced Hamill's decision to do so was that, in May 1973, "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" sold 3 million records in three weeks. When the dust settled, BMI calculated that radio stations had played it 3 million times—that's seventeen continuous years of airplay. Hamill dropped his suit after folklorists working for Levine and Brown turned up archival versions of the story that had been collected before "Going Home" had been written. http://www.loc.gov/folklife/ribbons/ribbons.html
Australia
In Australia, the Save Albert Park group have utilized the yellow ribbon as a symbol of protest. The group is a coalition protesting the reclamation of public space in Albert Park, MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
for the annual Australian Grand Prix
Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually and is held to be the pinnacle of motor racing in Australia. The Grand Prix is the oldest surviving motor racing competition held in Australia having been held 76 times since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928. Since 1985 the race has...
. When the race moved to Melbourne in 1996, yellow ribbons were tied around the trees in the park which were designated for removal. Although the group were unsuccessful in protecting the designated trees, they and their supporters still tie ribbons around the trees each year at the time of the race.
In 2009, the yellow ribbon was used during the appeal for those affected by the 2009 Victorian bushfires.
Denmark and Sweden
In Denmark the yellow ribbon has become the more or less official (though not directly officially endorsed by the countries' armed forces) symbol for support of troops in missions. In Sweden, Fredsbaskrarna http://www.fredsbaskrarna.se/ and Stiftelsen Jesper Lindbloms Minne http://www.jespersminne.se/ is promoting it as a troop-supporting symbol.Estonia
In Estonia the yellow ribbon was taken into use on 13 May 2011 after the President of EstoniaPresident of Estonia
The President of the Republic is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia.Estonia is a parliamentary republic, therefore President is mainly a symbolic figure and holds no executive power. The President has to suspend his membership in any political party for his term in office...
, Mr Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Toomas Hendrik Ilves is the fourth and current President of Estonia. He is a former diplomat and journalist, was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the 1990s and later a member of the European Parliament...
made the following announcement on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
: "The families of the seven Estonian citizens taken hostage in Lebanon
2011 Estonian cyclists abduction
The 2011 Estonian cyclists abduction was a kidnapping case involving seven Estonian cyclists who were abducted shortly after crossing into Lebanon from Syria on 23 March 2011...
need all of our support. Not intrusive nosiness but rather quiet and committed support that says: your concern is our concern, we hope and believe together with you. Today, to show this, I put a yellow ribbon on my lapel."
The seven Estonian citizens referred to by the President, were taken hostage on 23 March 2011 in eastern Lebanon during a cycling trip. On 14 July 2011 it was announced that the hostages had been freed.
The yellow ribbon was worn in person, but also virtually on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
. For that, a specialised Facebook app was created for people to automatically be able to add a yellow ribbon to their profile pictures. As of 14 July 2011, 12,671 people had added the yellow ribbon to their profile picture.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, yellow ribbon is used as a symbol to show solidarity and sympathy for the victims of the riots and chaos in Indonesia May 13–15, 1998, who were mostly Indonesian Chinese.Israel
Starting in August 2008 in the northern IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i province of The Galil, yellow ribbons were tied to the left side mirrors of civilian cars as a symbol of the hope of the Israelis to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit
Gilad Shalit
Gilad Shalit is an Israeli – French citizen and Israel Defense Forces soldier. On 25 June 2006, he was captured inside Israel by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid via underground tunnels near the border with Gaza. The Hamas militants held him for over five years, until he was released on...
who was imprisoned in the Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
strip by Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
. Shalit was born and raised in the small village of Mizpe Hilla in the upper Galil.
Japan
Japan's Medal of HonorMedals of Honor (Japan)
Since the late 19th Century, the Government of Japan has issued six different types of to individuals for achievements in various fields.The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and were first awarded the following year. Several expansions and amendments have been made since then...
uses a yellow ribbon to acknowledge professionals who have become public role models.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, yellow ribbons are used for suicide awareness. New Zealand has one of the highest rates of youth suicide in the world. It is also being used as a symbol of solidarity and remembrance for the Pike River minersPike River mine
The Pike River Mine is a coal mine operated by Pike River Coal north-northeast of Greymouth in the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island....
trapped and killed after the explosion in the mine on 19 November 2010.
Philippines
In the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, use of the yellow ribbon was a great hit and became the "New Zombie Fashion" when Oligarchy
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
came into power.
Singapore
In Singapore, the government has initiated an annual Yellow Ribbon campaign, through the Yellow Ribbon ProjectYellow Ribbon Project
The Yellow Ribbon Project started in 2004, is a Yellow Ribbon community-based program of the CARE Network in Singapore aimed at reintegrating ex-prisoners into society.-Description:...
, to promote giving ex-convicts a second chance in society. Typically, a person shows his support for ex-convicts by pinning a yellow ribbon on his shirt during the annual campaign held in September. This was probably influenced by its use as a symbol of acceptance in the song "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree" as stated above.
United States of America
Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian...
, the yellow ribbon was used a symbol of support for the hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
s held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
.
In November 1979, a committee headed by Suzan E. Garrett of the Jaycees ladies service organization in Leitchfield, Kentucky organized a campaign to "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" around public trees as well as encouraging people to wear tied ribbons on lapels in support of the U.S. hostages being held in Iran. She was interviewed on ABC-TV
ABC-TV
ABC-TV can refer to:*American Broadcasting Company, a radio and television network in the United States*Australian Broadcasting Corporation's ABC Television network**ABC , the ABC television station in Canberra...
by Ted Koppel
Ted Koppel
Edward James "Ted" Koppel is an English-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for Nightline from the program's inception in 1980 until his retirement in late 2005. After leaving Nightline, Koppel worked as managing editor for the Discovery Channel before resigning in 2008...
on the newly created NIGHTLINE
Nightline
Nightline, or ABC News Nightline is a late-night news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. It airs weeknights, usually for 31 minutes. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main...
late-night news program and later by Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM was a Canadian American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer...
for ABC World News Tonight.
This symbolism continued and gained further notoriety in December 1979, when Penelope Laingen, wife of the most senior foreign service officer being held hostage, tied a yellow ribbon around a tree on the lawn of her Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
home. The ribbon primarily symbolized the resolve of the American people to win the hostages' safe release, and it featured prominently in the celebrations of their return home in January 1981.
The yellow ribbon saw renewed popularity in the United States during the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
in the early 1990s. It appeared along with the slogan "support our troops
Support our troops
Support our troops is a slogan commonly used in the United States and Canada in reference to each country's military forces or troops. The slogan has been used during recent conflicts, including the Gulf War and the Iraq war....
", in the form of yellow ribbons tied to trees, and countless other contexts. It often had the implied meaning of supporting the Desert Shield and Desert Storm troop deployments themselves and/or loyalty to President George Bush, and therefore became somewhat politicizedCitation Needed. It appeared again during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
with similar meanings, most prominently in the form of a yellow ribbon printed on magnetized material and displayed on the outside of automobiles.
The yellow ribbon is also an emblem for suicide awareness. "The Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program is a community based program primarily developed to address youth/teen/young adult suicides (ages 10-25) through public awareness campaigns, education and training and by helping communities build capacity." The program began in September of 1994 after the suicide of 17 year old Mike Emme.
See also
- ActivismActivismActivism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
- List of government and military acronyms
- Symbolism of yellow
- Operation Yellow RibbonOperation Yellow RibbonOperation Yellow Ribbon was commenced by Transport Canada to handle the diversion of civilian airline flights in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. Canada’s goal was to ensure that potentially destructive air traffic be removed from U.S. airspace as quickly as possible, and away from...
- Red Friday
External links
- Yellow Ribbon Foundation
- How the Yellow Ribbon Became a National Folk Symbol from the Library of Congress American Folklife Center
- Straight Dope - Why Do We Put Up Yellow Ribbons?