The real meaning behind “Puff the Magic Dragon”
<p>First released in 1963 by folk stars Peter, Paul and Mary, “Puff the Magic Dragon” has entertained generations of children. But despite its charming melody and enduring popularity, there’s long been mystery surrounding this beloved song.</p>
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<p>The lyrics tell the story of an ageless dragon named Puff and his friend, a young boy named Jackie Paper. Sadly, as Jackie grows up, he loses interest in Puff, leaving him to be alone.</p>
<p>Perfectly innocent, right?</p>
<p>Well, not exactly. In 1964, a year after the song was first released,<em> Newsweek</em> published an article claiming the song contained veiled references to marijuana smoking. In addition to Puff’s name being a reference to taking a “puff” on a joint, the article alleged that Jackie Paper’s name was a reference to rolling paper, and the word “dragon” was said to be a homophone of “draggin’” – in other words, inhaling smoke.</p>
<p>Before long, this (unproven) theory became common knowledge, with many supposing it to be true. In Hong Kong, the song was even banned from the airwaves due to the allegations.</p>
<p>So what’s the truth?</p>
<p>According to the song’s writers, Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow, “Puff the Magic Dragon” is absolutely not about drugs. They assert that the song is about growing up and losing one’s innocence and that it “never had any meaning other than the obvious one”.</p>
<p>“I find the fact that people interpret it as a drug song annoying,” Lipton said. “It would be insidious to propagandise about drugs in a song for little kids.”</p>
<p>Mary Travers, who along with Yarrow and Paul Stookey made the song famous, said, “Believe me, if [Yarrow] wanted to write a song about marijuana, he would have written a song about marijuana.”</p>
<p>Despite the trio’s firm denial for decades that the song is anything but innocent, the misconceptions still exist today. But Lipton, who wrote the original poem on which the song is based, tells <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/79022/listen-real-story-behind-puff-magic-dragon" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Mental Floss</span></strong></a> he’s learnt not to let it bother him.</p>
<p>“People want to think it’s about pot, that’s fine with me.”</p>
