The yellow ribbon is a symbol of solidarity and hope for those away from home. Its history dates back to England, where it was worn by young women waiting for their lovers to return. In the 1970s, the song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” popularized the symbol, and it was adopted by Americans to show support for prisoners and later for military service members. Today, yellow ribbon magnets are a common sight on American cars, often with the message “support our troops.”
In the United States, a yellow ribbon is used as a symbol of solidarity with someone who is away from home and as an expression of hope that he or she will return safely and soon. A number of unrelated causes have adopted the ribbon as a symbol, somewhat blurring the yellow ribbon’s symbolism, but following the deployment of American troops to the Middle East in 2001, most Americans came to associate the ribbon specifically with service members active in the military, and support American troops.
The history of the tape is ancient. Several folktales and songs from England document the wearing of yellow ribbons by young women waiting for their lovers to come home, and this ribbon’s association with waiting for a loved one seems to have been carried into North America with settlers. Several popular Civil War songs referenced the tradition, and one popular World War I march song, “She She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” included the ribbon as a prominent symbol of a lover waiting at home.
In the 1970s, the popular song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” was released, and a great deal of folklore arose around the circumstances of the song. According to legend, the song was inspired by a prisoner who wrote to his wife shortly before his release, expressing a desire to reunite and saying that if she were to see him again, she should tie a yellow ribbon to a prominent tree along the way. If he had seen the tape from the prison bus, he would have known he was welcome home, but if he hadn’t, he would have known that his wife had moved on and would continue to move on.
This type appears to be apocryphal, and it is more likely that the song was inspired by old folk songs that included yellow ribbons in their imagery. However, the concept stuck in the public mind, and in 1979, Americans began showing these tapes in solidarity with prisoners caught up in the Iran hostage crisis. The ribbon became a powerful and familiar symbol, and was adopted again in the first Gulf War by parents and friends who were eager to see their loved ones return to the military.
After the deployment of American troops in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, an explosion of yellow magnetic tape appeared on American cars large and small. These ribbons often included a legend that read “support our troops” and some incorporated a version of the American flag. Some organizations dedicated funds from the sale of these tapes to support military causes, while others sold them primarily for profit, recognizing that many Americans wanted to express solidarity with service members in a highly visual way.
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