Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree is a song by Tony Orlando and Dawn released in 1973. The gesture itself spans time, geographies and cultures.
A Wikipedia entry states:
The origin of the idea of a yellow ribbon as a token of remembrance may have been the 19th century practice that some women allegedly had of wearing a yellow ribbon in their hair to signify their devotion to a husband or sweetheart serving in the U.S. Cavalry - the official color of the cavalry is yellow (worn on insignia, etc.), and the song “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” which later inspired the John Wayne movie of the same name, is a reference to this.
The symbol of a yellow ribbon became widely known in civilian life in the 1970s as a reminder of an absent loved one, either in the military or in jail that they would be welcomed home on their return. In Singapore, an initiative by the Singapore Prison Service to generate social acceptance of ex-offenders is named the Yellow Ribbon Project, having drawn inspiration from the song’s title.
The song plays a larger role in the Philippine setting as it, and the yellow motif, “became synonymous with Ninoy and was very much visible during anti-Marcos protests. In 1986, his widow Corazon Aquino used the yellow motif to her advantage and the opposition’s during the 1986 snap elections, which swept her to the presidency after the EDSA People Power Revolution.”
Here’s is a link to the speech given by Mrs. Corazon Aquino before the members of the U.S. Congress on September 18, 1986–enduring words from one of the country’s most venerable icons. As the blogger, Chuvachienes, has stated in his (her?) post, the speech should be treated as an authoritative academic material for English, and Political and Social Science courses.
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