Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree turned up archival versions of the story that had been collected before "Going Home" had been written. Levine and Brown first offered the song to Ringo Starr, but Al Steckler of Apple Records told them that they should be ashamed of the song and described it as "ridiculous". In April 1973, the recording by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando reached No. 1 in the "Billboard" Hot 100 (chart date 21 April 1973) in the US, and stayed at No. 1 for four weeks. "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" sold 3 million records in the US in three weeks. It also reached No.
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