'Round her neck she wears a yellow ribbon; She wears it in the winter and the summer so they say; And if you ask her, "Why the Yellow Ribbon?" She'll say, "It's for my lover who is far, far away."

CHO: Far away, far away; If she is milkin' cows or mowin' hay; Round her neck she wears a yellow ribbon; She wears it for her lover who is far, far away.

Written by George A. Norton according to Hugo Frey. John Ford used it for the second of his "Cavalry Trilogy" movies (starring John Wayne). In the film the words are changed to "She wears it for her lover in the U.S. Cavalry." It's possible that the song was actually sung by cavalrymen, or more likely played by regimental bands, but I strongly suspect that Ford just changed the words to make it fit the picture. The whole thing about the U.S. Cavalry wearing yellow neckerchiefs, is purely a Hollywood invention. I've never heard that yellow was "the color" for the Cavalry, but always have assumed that the song was an "American" song, not British. I could be wrong about both. Custer heard the Irish tune Garryowen and thought it would make a splendid regimental tune and "adopted" it as the regimental tune for the 7th Cavalry. He was right about that -- it was a perfect "fit" as a regimental cavalry tune, even better than "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon."