Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree of his arrival. However, Aquino was assassinated upon arrival, sparking the rise of People Power three years later that led to the demise of Ferdinand Marcos' presidency and subsequent inauguration of Aquino's widow Corazon Aquino as president. Yellow was also the campaign symbol of Aquino's son who eventually became President Benigno Aquino III in 2010. During the 2014 Hong Kong Protests the song was routinely performed by pro-democracy protestors and sympathetic street musicians as a reference to the yellow ribbons that had become a popular symbol of the movement on site (tied to street railings) and on social media. Journalists
Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree four weeks in April 1973, number one on the Australian charts for seven weeks from May to July 1973 and number one on the New Zealand charts for ten weeks from June to August 1973. It was the top-selling single in 1973 in both the US and UK. In 2008, "Billboard" ranked the song as the 37th biggest song of all time in its issue celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Hot 100. The song is told from the point of view of someone who has "done his time" but is uncertain if he will be welcomed home. He writes