Puff, the Magic Dragon

Encyclopedia : P : PU : PUF : Puff, the Magic Dragon

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"Puff, the Magic Dragon" is a song written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow and made popular by the group Peter, Paul and Mary in a 1963 recording. The song is so well-known that it has entered American and British pop culture. Puff gets his name because of his magical breath.

The lyrics for "Puff" were based on a 1959 poem by Leonard Lipton, a nineteen-year-old Cornell student. Lipton was inspired by an Ogden Nash poem titled "Custard the Dragon," about a "Really-O, Truly-O, little pet dragon." Lipton passed his poem on to friend and fellow Cornell student Peter Yarrow, who added a tune and additional lyrics to transform the poem into the song. In 1961, Yarrow teamed up with Paul Stookey and Mary Travers to form Peter, Paul and Mary. The group incorporated the song into their live performances before recording it in 1962. [link]

The lyrics tell a bittersweet story of the ageless dragon Puff and his playmate Jackie Paper, a little boy who grows up and loses interest in the imaginary adventures of childhood. The story of the song takes place "by the sea" in the fantasy land of Honah Lee.

Believed by many people to refer to smoking marijuana (a rumor later incorporated into the film Meet the Parents), it became a hippie anthem. The authors of the song have repeatedly and vehemently denied any intentional drug reference. On stage, they have often asserted their innocence by comparing it to other songs like The Star-Spangled Banner that could be construed as a drug song if the listeners had a mind to make it that way. [link]

Nevertheless, the song was banned in Singapore in 1963.[link] That country has the death penalty for possession of marijuana, and has banned other songs associated with "drug culture" like Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, and Yellow Submarine. ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

Beginning in 1978, a short series of 30-minute animated television specials based on the song were produced with Burgess Meredith in the title role. The series included Puff the Magic Dragon, Puff The Magic Dragon and the Land of the Living Lies, and Puff and the Incredible Mr. Nobody.

The phrase "Puff the Magic Dragon" is also American military slang for the AC-47 and AC-130 gunship airplanes used in Vietnam, so called because the planes' Gatling guns fired red tracers that gave the appearance of breathing fire.

Song sample

• [Download sample] of "Puff the Magic Dragon" (.ogg format)

See also

• European dragon
• List of dragons

External links

• ["Puff the Magic Dragon" lyrics]
• [Urban Legends Reference Page] which debunks the drug-reference myth

 

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