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This song was rumored to be about drugs, particularly marijuana. This rumor was fueled by a 1964 Newsweek article about hidden drug messages in pop music that came up with the following interpretations:
Puff's friend Jackie Paper = rolling papers
"Puff" = to take a puff from a joint
"Dragon" = a variation of "dragin'," as in taking a drag from a joint to inhale the smoke.
The band claims that the song is really about losing the innocence of childhood, and has nothing to do with drugs. At the end of the song, Puff goes back into his cave, which symbolizes this loss of childhood innocence.
Peter Yarrow wrote this in 1958 before he joined the group. He wrote it after coming home and seeing a poem on his typewriter with words about the dragon. He based his song on this poem, which was written by Lenny Lipton. A few years later when this became a hit, Yarrow found Lipton and gave him half the songwriting credit. Lipton, who was a camp counselor when Yarrow found him, gets extensive royalties from the song.
For his book
Behind The Hits John Javna spoke with Lenny Lipton about his poem. Lipton was feeling homesick when he wrote it. One day, he was on his way to dinner at a friend's house, and was a little early, so he stopped at the library and happened to read some Ogden Nash poems. The title of the poem that grabbed him was
The Tale Of Custard The Dragon, which is about a "Really-o Truly-o Dragon." Lipton was friends with Peter Yarrow's housemate when they were all students at Cornell University. On the walk from Cornell's library to the friend's house (where he was to eat dinner), he wrote the poem, which was about the loss of childhood. But no one was home when he arrived - there was some sort of mix-up about dinner. So he just went in and used Yarrow's typewriter to get the poem out of his head. Then, he forgot about it. Years later, a friend called and told him Yarrow was looking for him, to give him credit for the lyrics. Lipton had actually forgotten about the poem. (Thanks to John Javna for sharing this story.)
The original poem had a verse that did not make it into the song. In it, Puff found another child and played with him after returning. Neither Yarrow nor Lipton remember the verse in any detail, and the paper that was left in Yarrow's typewriter in 1958 has since been lost.
In an effort to be gender-neutral, Peter Yarrow later sang the line "A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys" as "A dragon lives forever, but not so girls and boys."
"Puff The Magic Dragon" was the nickname for a gunship used in the Vietnam War.
Some of the alleged drug references in this song include the "autumn mist," which was marijuana smoke, and the "land of Hanah Lee," which was the Hawaiian town of Hanalei, famous for its marijuana plants. Peter Yarrow insists that not only did the song have nothing to do with drugs, but that he didn't even know about pot in 1958, which kills any theories that he put drug references in subconsciously.
This song was banned in Singapore and Hong Kong because authorities thought it contained drug references.
Peter, Paul and Mary formed in 1961, and this song was always part of their repertoire, although they didn't record it until their second album, Moving, was released in early 1963. The first concerts of Peter, Paul, and Mary consisted of a solo set by each of the men, followed by a dozen songs sung as a trio, which is when they performed "Puff."
Paul Stookey put the song on trial during a 1976 show at the Sydney Opera House. He had a "prosecutor" on stage claiming the song was about drugs, with Jackie and Puff explaining that it wasn't. Stookey told the audience that if they sang along, Puff would be acquitted, which they did - the judge declared, "case dismissed."
In order to show the stupidity of calling this a drug song, the band sometimes performs "
The Star Spangled Banner" at concerts and pauses periodically to explain how the previous lines could describe drugs or drug-induced hallucinations. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada)
In the 2000 movie Meet The Parents, the family has a contentious debate over the meaning of this song. In the scene, this song comes on the car radio and Greg Focker (Ben Stiller), says to Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), "Who'd have thought it wasn't about a dragon? Some people thing that to puff the magic dragon means to smoke a marijuana cigarette." Byrnes replies: "Puff is just the name of the boy's magical dragon. You a pothead, Focker?"
When this was played on Bob Keeshan's TV show Captain Kangaroo, the accompanying illustrations seemed to reflect the missing fourth verse. During the final chorus, the words "BUT WAIT!" appear on the screen, and another child (who looks like a little caveboy) is seen knocking on the door to Puff's cave. The final picture shows Puff and the new little boy embracing. (thanks, Ekristheh - Halath)
In 1969, Peter, Paul and Mary released a children's album called Peter, Paul and Mommy which featured this song. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
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It featured a Jackie Papers, 20 years down the line, taking his daughter to meet Puff in the same cave. And Puff comes back to his old life, again!
I want to cry again. Someone, please make me...
Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the angel dust in a land of lsd
Little jackie pusher rolled a joint for puff
But puff refused the offer and told him to get stuffed.
It is indeed a beautifual sad song about growing up, losing your innocence.. things we missed doing when we were young ...
come on people... dont you all miss your childhood days??????????? please dont taint this childhood song with those ugly drugs and whatnots!!
Get over yourselves you goody-two-shoes idiots.
Maybe you all need to smoke some weed and listen to the song.
Seriously though...
The true meaning of the song, when it was created, is known only by the creator. The claim of its meaning is what we know.
The important thing is that, like all music and art, each person takes his or her own experience and meaning away from it.
So stop the arguing and start rolling the "dragon" and let's "PUFF" that "magic" beast and create some "autumn mist"!!!
P.S. No Pink Floyd member ever did a hallucinogenic drugs...EVER. Believe that one?
It is my favorite song.
Nicole I agree with you it should be required listening for young children. It is about the loss of childhood. I am listening to it right now even at 19 years old
In poems (like Beowulf), stories, songs and myths, the dragon is usually a creature that the protagonist must slay. Many people see dragons, as I do, as embodiments of our fears and secrets, which we often must "slay" or "conquer" to progress in our lives.
Perhaps we can hear this song in a similar way. However, there's a twist: Jackie Paper didn't intentionally set out to kill Puff. But, in essence, that's what he did when he "came no more" and Puff "slipped into his cave."
And why would Jackie "kill" Puff? Maybe he wants to leave his childhood--Puff--behind him, and doesn't want anyone to know how he played as a boy. If that's so, there's a parallell to the traditional dragon stories. But, as I said, there's a twist.
And an Australian football club? This honestly has got to be a joke; the song was written nearly 50 years ago - before the events described ever took place - by a 19-year-old American college student who probably didn't - and maybe still doesn't - know that Australians even HAVE a sport they call "football"! To each his own, the song can mean to you whatever you want it to mean - but please don't force your warped rationalizations down everyone else's throat!
One final note: the student who wrote the poem on which the song is based was a Physics Major at Cornell - and they still weren't smoking pot there - certainly, not on the Physics Department - when I went to college in the late seventies, which was one of the reasons I chose not to go there... :-)
- Dragon = draggin
- Johnny = joint, which is rolled up in paper, a "johnny paper"
- Honah Lee refers to the Hawaiian city of Hanalei, which has long been known as a major marijuana supplier.
Personally, this should be required listening for any young children.
'One morning Puff awoke to feel a weight upon his back,
To his delight he looked to see that there a young boy sat,
Puff forgot his sorrow and put aside his pain,
Marched off with his new found friend to face the world again.'
And yes, it did have the desired effect - my kids fell asleep with happy thoughts in their heads.
ps You could make it politically correct by replacing 'boy' with 'child' I will ask my daughter for a view on that (she's twentyone now and well up on such things!).
Clare Davies, United Kingdom
"Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief,So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay."
As for the drug reference, that is even more sad. Some things are simply what they are.
About six months before "Puff" entered the US Charts (March, 1963), in the UK there was a song which was also called "Puff" finding popularity. Actually the full title was "Puff (Up In Smoke)" by Kenny Lynch on HMV Records (October, 1962). But it doesn't end there. THAT song was originally from the US, written by the popular songwriting trio of Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, and Florence Kaye, and was called "Poof!". It was originally recorded as such by Bill Giant for M-G-M in December, 1961. However, the term "Poof" had an unfriendly meaning in the UK, which forced the title change. Surprisingly, when the Lynch version was released in the US on Big Top Records, the title was reverted back to "Poof!!". As it happens, that was just about the time the P,P&M song was gaining momentum.
So, ...was the title change of the P,P&M song to clarify any drug reference? Or was it to distinguish itself from the Kenny Lych song???
As an added note, Giant, Baum and Kaye were significant songwriters of Elvis' material, mainly of his movie tunes. They were also responsible for writing the theme for the popular Japanese cartoon which was known as "Kimba, the White Lion" in the US, of which was sung by Bill Giant (uncredited). I mean, it was about a white lion, ...wasn't it?