European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 10, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily Magazine yellow ribbons tuning up a associated press the nation appeared to be plastered with Yel Low ribbons for the return of the 52 americans who were held hostage in Iran for 444 and the origin of the yellow ribbon is tangled in a knot of stories ranging from civil War tradition to the hit song by Tony Orlando and tie a yellow rib Bon round the Ole Oak Gerald reference librarian in the a chive for Folk song of the Library of Congress in said he has found a tradition of White ribbons As a but said he Hast been Able to document any tradition depth for yellow ribbons As a he also said he has not found any proof that women awaiting the return of their loved ones from the civil War had started the practice of tying yellow Parsons the current popularity of tying yellow ribbons around or anything else for that was probably sparked by Penne wife of expos Tage Bruce who tied a Large yellow ribbon around a tree in front of the Laingen Home in up song revival is tied to Penne wife of she didst Check with the Library of Congress or any other historical source for a Parsons she just thought of whatever came into her what came to mind apparently was the song made popular in the 70s by Tony Orlando and tie a yellow ribbon round the Ole Oak it was written by Irwin Levine and Russell Parsons said the interesting and important thing he sees in the yellow ribbons is that they represent the Way americans have traditionally formed our expressive sym this is the Way weve started such without reference or dependence upon old world Parsons said that Sigmund Spaeth cites a song called All round my hat in his Book history of popular music in Parsons said the text of the chorus of that song is similar to the song round her neck she wore a yellow ribbon of the 1949 she wore a yellow starring John Spaeth writes about this time there appears from the press of George Endicott a strange dialect song called All round my which is unquestionably the ancestor of the later round her neck she wore a yellow ribbon with All its variants and decorating school to Mark Freedom for associated press Here Are the lyrics to tie a yellow ribbon round the Ole Oak tree by Irwin Levine and Russell and the new lyrics they have composed for the song in Honor of the 52 americans who were held hostage in Iran for 444 in coming Ive done my now Ive got to know what is and int if you received my letter telling you id soon be then youll know just what to do if you still want if you still want tie a yellow ribbon round the Ole Oak its been three Long do you still want if i dont see a ribbon round the Ole Oak ill stay on the forget about and put the blame on if i dont see a yellow ribbon round the Ole Oak it feels so Good to have you Home though you were you never were our country pulled together be one big family with a simple song of Freedom bout a ribbon in a a song for tie a yellow ribbon round the Ole Oak what a wondrous sight for our eyes to see while one of us is none of us Are its All for one and one for All for All the world to a simple yellow ribbon round the Ole Oak february All round my mentions a Green not a yellow Spaeth explains that All round my hat came to the United states from England during the 17th it was Sung in music Halls in England and in minstrel shows in the United Parsons said the British journal of the folksong volume makes reference to the song As being about a vegetable seller who wore a Green Willow around his hat for 12 months and a Day in remembrance of his True who had been sentenced to seven years imprisonment in Australia for Parsons said the song became popular with College students in the United states during the and can be found in College with the color mentioned in the song varying to match the color of the Levine said the song he and Brown wrote came about one Day while the two of them were sitting in the Yard of levines new Jersey he Brown related a Story he heard in the Barracks when he was in the army in the Levine the Story was about a woman waiting for her a to come Home and she tied a yellow ribbon on a tree in his they wrote a song and even made a tape cassette of but then they tossed it in the it just want said we didst like the Melody we didst think we got the message across melodically or he said that three weeks later they were Back in the same attempting to come up with a new idea for a i you that yellow ribbon thing still fascinates Why dont we go Back from scratch and write it All Over again As if we haunt done it three weeks Levine he said the second yellow ribbon song the one that was to become a bestseller was very different from the but that he  compare them because the original was thrown Levine said that during the he and Russell wrote a song about lets All sing a song about but he said that because of the Vietnam War and anti american feelings being expressed they laughed us out of the who going to buy they asked in Honor of the freed Levine and Brown have another yellow ribbon a revised version of their hit with new who could Ever guess it would mean what it has turned out to Levine said of the original yellow ribbon i think its As a song i Hope that the american Public goes on enjoying my song As Long As they want to enjoy As an Ameri i Hope that never again the american people have to tie yellow ribbons for americans held hostage and that never again the people have to tie yellow ribbons for american prisoners of the stars and stripes Page 13