What Are the Yellow Ribbons For

What Are the Yellow Ribbons Forの主要なニュースを丁寧にまとめました。全体像を一目で把握できます。

Let’s clear up the biggest myth first. The yellow ribbon is not from that cheesy 1973 Tony Orlando and Dawn song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree.” That song is famous, yes—but it’s borrowing an older idea. The real origin goes back way before bell-bottoms.

Believe it or not, the first “yellow ribbon” in American pop culture was tied to a horse. In the 1940s, a dime novel called She Wore a Yellow Ribbon told the story of a woman waiting for her soldier lover. But the most influential version? A 1949 John Wayne movie of the same name.

The ribbon in that film wasn’t for a lover—it was for a horse. Specifically, a cavalry soldier’s wife wore it as a pledge of loyalty while her husband was away. Still, the symbol of waiting and hope was already planted in the public mind.

The Real Kick-Starter: Prisoners and a U.S. Army Spouse

Here’s where it gets juicy. In 1971, a woman named Penny Laingen put a yellow ribbon around an oak tree in her front yard. Her husband, Bruce Laingen, was the top U.S. diplomat being held hostage in Iran. She wasn’t just being crafty—she was making a public plea for his return.

What Is Yellow Ribbon Day

That single act, combined with the hostages’ 444-day ordeal, launched the yellow ribbon into a national symbol. Suddenly, every tree in America looked like a Mardi Gras float. But here’s the funny part: Penny later admitted she got the idea from that 1973 pop song—which was itself a reimagining of a 1959 folk song, “Round Her Neck She Wears a Yellow Ribbon.”

So the circle of life is: John Wayne horse movie → folk song → cheesy pop hit → actual hostage crisis → your neighbor’s mailbox. History is weird and wonderful.