Why Tell Stories in Song?

Lyrics: I'm comin' home, I've done my time
Now I've got to know what is and isn't mine
If you received my letter tellin' you I'd soon be free
Then you'll know just what to do if you still want me
If you still want me

CHORUS:
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/tony_orlando/tie_a_yellow_ribbon.html ]
Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree
It's been three long years
Do you still want me?
If I don't see a ribbon round the old oak tree
I'll stay on the bus
Forget about us
Put the blame on me
If I don't see a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree

Bus driver, please look for me
'Cause I couldn't bear to see what I might see
I'm really still in prison, and my love she holds the key
A simple yellow ribbon's what I need to set me free
I wrote and told her this:

REPEAT CHORUS

Now the whole damn bus is cheering
And I can't believe I see
A hundred yellow ribbons 'round the old oak tree
I'm comin' home

One of my favorite songs that gets stuck in my head and keeps on replaying in my mind when I was in elementary school is “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” by Tony Orlando. I got introduced to this song by my fourth grade English teacher who made us try to memorize it and perform it on a ceremony celebrating our school’s birthday. The first time I listened to it, the melody was not that catchy or captivating. But once I listened to it carefully after several times of replay, I recognized the melody is much like country music and soothes my emotions. Moreover, after I got a look at the lyrics, I realized how well the melody actually goes with lyrics. The lyrics talk about how a man was in prison for three years and was finally freed. During the years in the prison, he has never forgotten about his lover or wife. He then wrote a letter to his lover saying that if she still wants him, she can tie a tallow ribbon around the old oak tree in her front yard. If he does not see one, he will get her point and never bother her again; for he knows that it is his fault leaving her alone. What really touches me is the last part when he saw a hundred yellow ribbons tied around the tree. I think the song was made popular because of the catchy melody and the rhythms of the rhyming words. Take example of the lyrics, “I’ll stay on the bus, forget about us” rhymes. It makes it easier for people to memorize the song. I memorized the lyrics fast that way. Also, the lyrics about the man’s story, which is very easy to understand and relate to it, make the song actually very interesting to read. I think it is better for the lyrics to be easily understood then for them to be aesthetically abstract. That way, it is easier to sympathize with the scenes the lyrics are meaning to portray. It is catchy also because of the straight forward story line of these lyrics. Also, there is also a little part in which the lyrics described the interactions between the main character and the bus drivers and the rest of the passengers on the same bus with him. It was kind of like a dialogue in which the main character talks with the bus driver. This makes the song a really memorable ballad.