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From: beatlesno9
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  • @erikmchatton This song became big with Vietnam vets because Bob Hope called Tony and asked him to perfomr this song at an event in Dallas for returning POWs. The result of that Bob Hope phone call Tony Orlando became very active with the USO and continues to perform for our troops all over the world. He just received the 7 Seal Award for his work over the years.

  • Dream High brought me here. :p

  • the song was a meaningful story that i want to tell for my girl

  • On this date in 1973 {Feb. 17th} "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100; on April 21st it would peak at #1 {for 4 weeks}and spent 23 weeks in the Top 100...

    Ranked the #1 Record of the Year on Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 Singles of 1973 chart

    Reached #1 in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand...

    Johnny Carver's version in 1973 reached #5 on Billboard's Country chart and #1 on the Canadian Country chart...

  • 1973

  • Swag

  • #681

  • @maddogtannon1966 or what ever the name is. Our idiot brother is a movie. Lol

  • My wife's # 1 birthday song too.

  • my birthday's #1 song

  • i fell in love with this song... i covered it :D check it out! watch?v=4YCrDftEDfc

  • I love this song!

  • Top of the Crap in the 70s... The young generation has Justin Bieber but we had Dawn and Brotherhood of Man on TOTP and Billboard ;-)

  • hopefully there comes a day when we dont have to tie ribbons anymore

  • alone again - naturally

  • Your idiot brother brought you here ? ? I guess you can leave then . Go back to the homogenized crap they put out today . Every ribbon youve ever seen anywhere is because of this one song ....And ribbons are everywhere .

  • Our Idiot Brother brought me here! :D

  • I love it..so many good memories! xxx

  • Thank you Our Idiot Brother:) I had completely forgotten about this song, and then i heard it in this movie. Ah yes:)

  • songs like this take me back to the old days.

  • One of the best songs

  • Even today people still puts yellow ribbons around their trees for the people who is still in the services so that they will know that they are always welcome back home. I like seeing them around trees because to me it means we still care about our soldiers who is fighting for our freedom.

  • 24 people didn't tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree!

  • This song was NOT about Vietnam. Stop trying to make it what it is not.

  • Agree with @DarknessFades91. Thanks for taking the time.

  • @gujratibhai4 You agree, but your agreement doesn't make his statement true, since it is in fact patently untrue, making you even more wrong than he is for being wrong in the first place. You're already on the internet, you COULD try a few seconds of actual research before throwing your false opinion into the mix.

  • owh i love this song. :)

  • "I'm coming home" :)

  • Brings a tear each time I hear it

  • @srlollipop47 memories, childhood my

  • Me hace recordar a la Secundaria.. Auch!!

  • I saw Tony Orlando and Dawn in March 1976 at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, SC. The show was delayed due to an ankle injury to Joyce. Her ankle was taped up and she was toted out and placed on a stool, where she remained for the entire concert. Despite this, it was still a good show.

  • As the bus rolled down U.S. 17, nearing the man's hometown of White Oak, Georgia, the driver was asked to slow down so that all could see whether the ribbon was in place. To the man's tearful relief, it was.

  • The song was based on an actual incident that occurred aboard a southern bus bound for Miami. One of the passengers explained to the driver that he was just out of prison, having served three years for passing bad cheques. He had written to his wife that she didn't have to wait for him; but, if she was still interested, she could let him know by tying a yellow ribbon around the only oak tree in the city square.

  • @roccard4u It sounds funny, but I had "heard" this song at least a dozen times or more before I actually listened to the lyrics. Almost overnight it went from not being on the radio at all to being on the radio constantly, to the point of quickly becoming background music with a popular chorus. Then, on the Mike Douglas Show, Tony Orlando explained the story behind the song & the next time I heard it, I really listened to the words ... and cried myself stupid! :) I love this song.

  • Great toetapper from 1973, i have the coffee mug with the lyrics on it too! Yellow lettering of course!

  • I can't stop my tears...

  • @loveroger

    WHY ? ya soft ass ha ha ha , sweet heart xxx 

  • me enamore de esta cancion desde que la escuche

  • This song isn't about a soldier it's about a prisoner coming home.

  • @erikmchatton Even if this was about a prisoner, most of the radio listeners in 1973 were probably thinking of their Vietnam husbands and sons coming home

    .

    It became the # 1 song of the year for that reason

    .

  • @electrictroy2010 Yeah, that I agree with. This is likely the reason that so many people have come to associate the whole 'yellow ribbon around a tree' thing with Veterans, and why so many people assert that this very song was written about them.

  • I like this song, and again it sounds!

  • just saw michael singing this song after getting drunk drinking vitamin drink with 18% alcohol on Good Times TV show

  • GREAT. My memories went back to those good ole days!!

  • beautiful song my son angel love's it and even dance on a coreography he was only 7 now is 9 and still dancing

  • all hard sing Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree/dawn

  • Brings back sooo many memories.. <3

  • Okay- its alright for someone to have their own interpretation of a song. Be clear you understand that its your interpretation, and not the song's original intent. Sometimes songs may be ambiguous, or vague. This is not one of those songs. This song is about a convict returning from prison, hoping his girl still wants him to come home, agonized over the possibility she's changed her mind about him, knowing he was at fault. He's told the driver and the passengers his story. That's it.

  • they don't make music like this anymore. Awesome song!!!

  • This is such a beautiful song.

    Plus now I know where when you tie a yellow ribbon for soldiers comes from.

    YAY LEARNING! :D

  • @TatsuyaAngel1

    (y) (meant as a thumbs up ;) )

    Yellow ribbons mean different things in different places, in my country it is worn to show you support our troops abroad and their families by donating to "peace berets" who will help the families with simpler tasks such as for example snow removal or feeding the dog when needed. In Australia it was used in protest against the reclamation of public space in Albert Park. Mostly it is used to show sympathy and solidarity. :)

  • Great song and equally great memories. Great post and thanks for posting.

  • thi is music!!!!!! I love it

  • Why does Tony Orlando look like a 1970's porn star. A cracking pair of backing singers.

  • "I'm really still in prison and my love she holds the key,

    A simple yellow ribbon's all I need to set me free"...

    I think the interpretation is up to each individual listener and what resonates with them. The above line makes me favor the prison theory, but I understand the overseas connection since the song became so important to the USA during the Iran hostage crisis and then was adopted by families waiting for loved ones serving overseas afterwards.

    

  • nice moustache

  • Yup! This "jailbird" is singing for joy in the bus bringing him home upon his release from PRISON.

  • A|s a matter of fact, the songwriters later told they described a real story of an ex-convict they met on Greyhound who was worried if he is wanted back at home.

  • It is actually partially about the Iranian Hostage Crisis

  • @GrenadesForDummies

    But this song is from 1973....

  • @steepholm Voodoo my friend, voodoo

  • geel lintje

  • this is coming home from prison for sure. i don't know what all the fuss is about. the lyrics clearly says he was in prison. Later it became a symbol for the viet war men who's returning home and is still a symbol for those who serve in the war. The viet war ended two years after this song came out. Tony and Dawn are only preforming the song, it was written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown

  • 23 need a a rope round them,, lol,,!!

  • ... an eternal song .... especially Servicemen ......

  • I thought it was wirtten by Tony about comging home from prison.

  • @bombshell42701 Partially correct; it certainly is about coming home from prison, but it was not written by Tony Orlando.

  • Great song!

  • Congrats for your criminal dad

  • The symbol of a yellow ribbon became widely known in civilian life in the 1970s as a reminder that an absent loved one, either in the military or in jail, would be welcomed home on their return.

  • it actually is about like the vietnam captives, so yeah their coming home from prison but not in the like...criminal way, haha :)

  • @BenandKrystal

    No, actually it wasn't. The VN Captives were released in early 1973 BEFORE this song aired. But in any case yellow ribbons weren't first seen until November 1979 and the Iranian hostage crisis.

  • Not a lot of money was spent on the making of this video. LOL Great song, though.

  • LISTENING TO THIS SONG IN MY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN GUATEMALA, AND I LOVE IT NOW I HAVE 35 YEARS, I go back to that time, FACT WHEN YOU SAY THE MUSIC CARRYING THE PAST. THE LOOK OF MY FATHER WHEN YOUNG REIA.

    SALUDOS A MIS AMIGOS EN SUN VALLEY CALIFORNIA Y MI LINDO PAIS GUATEMALA

  • I can't wait till I demobilize!

    

  • In today's society where America is Overburdened by Fear, Greed, Uncertainty, Paranoia, and gradual Stupidity, these Priceless songs are ABSOLUTE Gems!

    If these lyrics and/or Instrumental doesn't strike any emotion or insight to ones self in These Hard times... Pity on you. ^^

  • Timeless song. Doesn't matter if it's about a soldier returning home from battle or just a guy being released from prison. It's an uplifting and spiritual song about getting back to old loves and friends. A classic for all times.

  • Revived in 1981 when the American hostages returned from Iran after 444 days and after Ronald Reagan became the new president of the USA, and revived in 1991 during the original Gulf War.

  • I know this song is about a guy getting out of prison but it speaks to me about mercy. Can you imagine experiencing this much grace? I love it.

  • @grouse8now It's actually about a soldier coming back from Vietnam not prison.

  • @jeeao there are different variations of the folk tale. some are about servicemen coming back from a war some are about a person after serving time in prison

  • Tony and the girls hit #1 in Billboard, 4-21-73. God bless ya, for postin' it. Thanx!

  • I didn't know there were three year tours overseas without his dependent (wife being able to accompany him). That's why I thought it was about jail.

  • One of the best songs ever written.Touching to the heart.

  • A song is art.It's about what you want it to be about.What inspires you,makes you feel.God only really knows what the writers wrote this song about.

  • I really love this song very much, especially the instumental bit, takes me back to the 1970's.

  • this is such a good song and tony is a really good singer and i like his

    song knock three times, but i think that knock three times is better

    its a really good song and you should reawlly watch it if you havnt

    seen it becuase its cool

  • I'd love to see Casey Abrams give this song a shot with his own unique style.

  • Thanks for uploading this song, it's a great song, and it became the anthem to welcome our Troops from foreign lands.

  • im a rocker but must say i love this song it,s relax to listing to

  • The oak tree was felled unfortunately, and so he gets to enjoy the bus ride home.

    The oak tree with a hundred yellow ribbons was probably some kind of rainbow dope they love during the 70s. It can't be a mirage because oak trees don't grow there, nor do buses go there if there isn't a need to either.

  • @DarknessFades91 You are stupid, "Done my time" refers to someone coming back from their tour in Nam. Think what you want but you are going to look like a retard when your tree has a yellow ribon on it for your dad coming home from prison. What do you think the yellow ribbon bumper stickers that say "support our troops" is for?

  • on a wee memory trip

  • there was a story written in 73 about a con who asked his love to tie a yellow handkerchief on the tree if she still wanted him otherwise he'd stay on the bus. A couple of years later this song was released with the artists claiming they had heard it as a military story where the soldier would do the same. It was found to be archived years predating the story from 73. So in all honesty, the song is written about soldiers coming home.

  • I like this song!

  • Really lovely song.

  • ึิคิดถึงสมัยเด็ก

  • 21 people don'l like ribbons

  • 21 people didn't see the yellow ribbon around the ole oak tree

  • Não tenho palavras,demaisss!!!

  • This was written by Irwin Levine and Larry Brown. It is based on the true story of a convict returning from jail. Levine and Brown got the story from a 1971 article in The New York Post, and changed some of the details. It was really a white handkerchief around the tree, but they made it a yellow ribbon because it made for a better song.

  • Aw the summer of 73' i remember.

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  • Comment removed

  • I tied a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree when my parents got out of prison , I still wanted them .

  • Hmm, so that's what inspired Brotherhood of Man "Kisses for me"! Try listening it immediately after this song.

  • who gives a heck whatever the heck this song is about? interpret it anyway you want, but its a kick-ass song.

  • quote from wikipedia:

    "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole 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 Ole Oak Tree", Written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown, 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.

  • I found out about this song in a infomercail for a TIME/LIFE cd collection. A laighed through the whole thing because they always are. But this song is great.

  • Happy memories

  • The song is not about war, Or Nam,it is about Love, why is that so hard to understand?

  • When I was a child my grandmother owned a diner that had a jukebox in it. The customers would complain because I would play this song over and over..lol

  • @tracytaylortx I don't see why, this song's AWESOME! = )

  • When I was a kid my grandmother owned a diner which had a jukebox in it. The customers would complain because I would play this song over and over again..lol

  • i'm the 575.000 viewer!

  • like not kidding this is my gym teacher's uncle i am serious!!!!!!!!!!!

  • I hated shite like this in the 70s...must be getting old!..I enjoyed that.

  • my nanny loved this song ... she died 2day 35 years ago :( RIP CATHERINE 

  • So sweet and powerful of a sing.

  • @markcruiser64 as stated by other users its about coming home from prison, listen to this for decades :-) lol.

    nice song.

  • WTF? I was a kid when this came out and, up until now I though he was in prison (I've done my time). LOL to me.....

  • @alinmiami1 well he says "im realy still in prison" in the lyrics. no referance to war in there

  • i love this song and i'm only 23 now 

  • Comment removed

  • Just fabulous. Lots of memories here. This song will be relevant for many years to come just so long as the wars keep on coming.

  • This is such a GAY- Cheesy song but it's damn catchy!! 

  • I'm 19 and I love this music!! Can't wait until I leave for BMT for the USAF! I love reading history on WWII up to Iraqi Freedom. Just recently I started getting into Vietnam. I know it sounds bad now but Vietnam has a lot of history that I never understood so I never got interested, now that it's similar to now a days war it made me realize how many people we lost during that war and it saddens me. This song and type of music means a lot and i interrupt it in a lot of ways.

  • In 1980 the nation adopted the symbol of the yellow ribbon during the Iran hostage crisis. The yellow ribbon idea came from Orlando's hit "Tie A Yellow Ribbon." It has since become an international symbol of hope and homecoming.

  • A timeless song, just lovely. Thank Mike for sharing! :))

  • I remembered they played this a lot during the hostage crises in Iran during the 70s.

  • Absolutely beautiful. This is clearly a timeless song!

  • i love these song i love 80s music i hate the hits im 13 years old my e-mail is us_uriel1@live.com.us

  • hey - i might be going to prison.... anyone know a good tree??

  • What a wonderful song and a wonderful group!!! I love this group! I am 38 years old I bought all there CD's and the DVD of there TV shoe. I also got the Christmas Reunion CD which came out in 2006 which is unbelievable. I love Joyce and Telma. Joyce is so dam beautiful and I see Joyce is on the Former Ladies Of The Supremes Joyce is beautiful as ever and a wonderful singer. I see the Supremes is releasing a new Cd I hope Joyce has some leads, Hey Joyce, sing Selfish One! Love It! Love you Dawn!

  • I think their are just two conceptions of this song. Either way, this song rocks my socks. :)

  • It could as well be about dropping out of college after 3 years and coming back home to your gf/ex, but isn't that great that a song can be meaningful in different ways to different people..

  • One song I never tire of. Bless you for uploading it.

  • ... "Tie a yellow Gadsden Flag on the old old oak tree".... The Federal, State, and Local government has far overstepped their constitutional authority, and is now directly violating all of our Natural, Civil, and Constitutional Rights, as well as our Religious, Parental, Resource, Financial, Medical, Property, and Privacy Rights !!!. Please Wake Up and Fight for your Rights, Freedoms, Liberty, and Opportunity !!!. Let it be known that yours was a voice for Freedom !!!. Wake the others !!!.

  • 20 people want some black ribbons? cause dont like a yellow one, ok RIP loosers.

  • @01Astek Why don't you stick tour stupid comments up your A**

  • @WGMuller1 HO! THAT'S WHAT YOU DO TO YOUR SELF STICK EVERYTHING INYOUR A**? MMM OK THEN KEEP DOING THAT IN TILL YOU DIE FAGED, AND ABOUT YOU BRAIN DAMAGE COMMENTS YOU DO, I JUST DONT CARE, THIS IS A GOOD SONS AND IF YOU DONT LIKE IT WELL THEN GO SOME WHERE ELSE ESEEEE.

  • No fucking way!!!! lmao

  • AH the 70's my favorit Decade. I was 6 or 7 when this was a hit. I remenber having a crush on the one of the back singers.

  • Connie Francis had a Answer song to this song. "should I tie a yellow ribbon round the ole oak tree" which she did 1973

  • #1 song for all of '73. Also, hit #1 AC, in Billboard. God bless ya, brother Tony! How on earth could 20 folks dislike this 1?

  • 20 fans of Justin Bieber.

  • this is the best song ever, and i'm 18

  • i like the lyrics and the guitar part especially strumming like staccato feeling. Hard to imagine. Even i not listening to this song, it keep comes to my head. Perhaps i listen too much this song.

  • its amazing song and I dont need to say any word because the word's in the song are so spaciel......

  • love this song. I think of my dad every time I hear it, he loved this one.

  • I love that song. I have 39 years and first heard when I was 4 (1975). I love Knock 3 times, too.

  • This song keeps repeating over and over in my head. Perhaps, because it is really and old time, and good song to relax.

  • To all you Michigan State Spartans fans, Carolina Panthers fans (like myself), and Chicago Bears fans: This was the #1 song in the USA when Muhsin Muhammad came into the world (5-5-1973). On a personal note, this was my first ever concert; March 1976, Carolina Coliseum, Columbia, SC.

  • i feel like i've been away - and i can't wait to get back to my baby. ;-)

  • I woke up with this song banging my head, and the memories of a couple dancing this back in the 70's in my home's hall over and over. Weird.

  • :) esa cancion que linda (L)

  • My vote is on the BV sisters!

  • god bless all our troops fighting for our freedom!!!

  • @TOMAN4EVER I will be happy to pass on your message to my son, thank you. Please do the same for me. Let your husband know that our Vet's from Vietnam have shown incredible bravery and pride during that war and they continue to do so in their fight for well deserved recognition. God Bless every one of them!

  • My husband served in Nam, he was spat upon when he returned home!

  • I am 17 and really like this song, first time I heard it was either on this episode of Malcolm in the Middle when Malcolm meets Stevie or on the radio when I was younger. oh I also find "older" music much better than the some of music of my generation.

  • Great song!

  • Now the whole darn bus is screaming and I can't believe I see a hundred strung up kittens on the ole oak tree! (Hang a kitten from the ole oak tree.)

  • One of the greatest classics ever makes me feel great every time!!!

  • fuck it brilliant

  • We who have not had the honor of ours serving over there thank you. Read about Saddam Hussein and his evil government gassing to death thousands of women and children, starting wars, hosting terrorists, brutalizing anyone who got in his way . . . UNTIL YOU ALL CAME ALONG. News people with political agendas hide the fact that you accomplished the mission of removing a brutal murderous dictator. THANK YOU for ending the Hussein dictatorship, and welcome home ! Moms, be proud !

  • OMG! I love the video! I am such a big fan of Joyce Vincent she is a true Diva! Joyce is just as beautiful today as she was back in the day. I love the Christmas Reunion CD they did in 2006 I was shocked when I heard Welcome To Our World on the radio and they said Dawn of Tony Orlando a new Christmas CD! I got it on Amazon it is a wonderful Christmas CD ever. I hope Joyce and her sister Pam will release a CD or Telma with Joyce but again I rather have Joyce I know it will be GREAT!