Very old revelation

Hey, kids, you know the idea of tying a yellow ribbon around something...do you realize all our yellow, pink and black ribbon gestures actually emanated from a song? I used to think it was about a guy returning from war. It's not. It's about a guy returning from serving time in prison. 

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/tony_orlando/tie_a_yellow_ribbon.html

Makes you wonder what he was serving time for.