Tied Down
"Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree" was a huge hit around the world for Dawn (featuring Tony Orlando) in 1973. It even affected popular culture, making yellow ribbons a big (or bigger) thing for those returning home.
Okay, it's about a guy coming home after three years. He's written his love, telling her to do what the title says if she still loves him. If she doesn't, he's not even getting off the bus. So the whole song is a drama about what will happen when he gets back--beautiful homecoming, or heartbreak? The final verse slows down for the drama:
Now the whole damn bus is cheering/
And I can't believe I see/
[dramatic pause]
A hundred yellow ribbons round the ole oak tree
Very touching. Except the ending's been spilled by the word "cheering." We know it's a happy result, even if the extra ribbons are a bit of a surprise.
Rewrite it so the wording is ambiguous. Could be great or horrible. How about "Now the whole damn bus is silent/ And I can't believe I see"?
PS There seems to be a debate as to whether the singer is coming home from jail or the military. Well, he does say he's really still in prison, and I don't see that as a metaphor. I realize the song has been adopted by those returning from service, but I don't think it was originally about that.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:06 AM
2 Comments:
I wonder if there's any information on how much yellow ribbon was sold after the song was released. Before then, I bet blue ribbon and red ribbon was more popular, but who wanted yellow ribbon?
Well John Wayne starred in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" which was a paeon to the US Cavalry.
The whole ex-convict story looking for a yellow marker to see if he'd be welcome home. turned into some nasty lawsuits between the songwriters and Pete Hamill who wrote about it in a column.
And from the Tony Orlando Wikipedia site- He's half Greek and "Tony is also a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles (F.O.E)."
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