- Puff, the Magic Dragon
Infobox Single
Name = Puff, the Magic Dragon
Artist =Peter, Paul and Mary
from Album = Moving
B-side =
Released =1963
Format =
Recorded = 1963
Genre =Folk , Pop
Length = 3:20
Label = Warner Bros/Wea
Writer =Leonard Lipton ,Peter Yarrow
Producer =
Certification =
Chart position = * #2 (US)
Audio sample? = yes
Last single =
This single =
Next single =
Misc = Audiosample
Upper caption = Audio sample
Audio file = Puff.ogg:"Puff the Magic Dragon" is also the nickname of the DouglasAC-47 Spooky gunship, an American military plane used during theVietnam War .""Puff, the Magic Dragon" is asong written byLeonard Lipton andPeter Yarrow and made popular by the groupPeter, Paul and Mary in a 1963 recording. The song is so well-known that it has entered American and British pop culture.Lyrics
The lyrics for "Puff, the Magic Dragon" were based on a
1959 poem byLeonard Lipton , a nineteen-year-oldCornell student. Lipton was inspired by anOgden Nash poem titled "Custard the Dragon," about a "Really-O, Truly-O, little pet dragon." Lipton passed his poem on to friend and fellowCornell studentPeter Yarrow , who created music and more lyrics to make the poem into the song. In1961 , Yarrow joinedPaul Stookey and Mary Travers to formPeter, Paul and Mary . The group incorporated the song into their live performances before recording it in1962 ; their 1962 recording of "Puff" reached #2 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart in early 1963. This song also spent two weeks atop the "Billboard" easy listening chart that same year. ["The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits", 6th Edition, 1996]The lyrics tell a story of the ageless dragon Puff and his playmate Jackie Draper, a little boy who grows up and loses interest in the imaginary adventures of childhood and leaves Puff alone and depressed. The story of the song takes place "by the sea" in the fictional land of Honalee (Sometimes spelled Honah Lee).
A
1978 animated television special, "Puff the Magic Dragon", adapts the song. [" [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I0RNUM/ref=nosim?tag=theagonybooth-20&link_code=as3&creativeASIN=B000I0RNUM&creative=373489&camp=211189 Puff the Magic Dragon (1978)] ," "Amazon.com "] , it was followed by two sequels. In all three filmsBurgess Meredith voiced Puff.A
2007 book adaptation of the song's lyrics by Yarrow, Lipton and illustratorEric Puybaret gives the story a happier ending with a young girl (presumed by reviewers to be Jackie Paper's daughter [ [http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/247045 TheStar.com | entertainment | New take on Puff the Magic Dragon ] ] ) seeking out Puff to become his new companion.Interpretations
The song is believed by many to refer to smoking marijuana, due to references to paper, dragon ("draggin'"), puff (smoke), traveling "along the cherry lane" (the burning ember of a cigarette or joint is called a cherry, and moves up the cigarette's length as it burns), and Hanalei (Honahlee) is a town in
Hawaii known for marijuana use. This theory led to the song becoming ahippie anthem. The authors of the song have repeatedly and vehemently denied any intentional drug reference. [ [http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSSYD1071420080306 Just A Minute With: Peter Yarrow] atReuters.com ] Peter Yarrow himself insists that "Puff" is about the hardships of growing older, not drugs. [ [http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/puff.htm Puff, the Magic Dragon] atSnopes.com ] He has also said of the song that it "never had any meaning other than the obvious one". [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OiOlnoyljk&feature=related YouTube - puff the magic dragon (live) ] ]Also, during a live performance, Yarrow once mocked the drug related interpretations by reciting his own drug related reinterpretation of the Star-Spangled Banner, and ended by saying, "...You can wreck anything with that kind of idiotic analysis." [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZPDK5eO7K8&feature=related YouTube - Peter, Paul, and Mary-"Puff, the Magic Dragon" (1982?) ] ]
"Paul" of Peter, Paul and Mary also upheld the song's innocence. Noel "Paul" Stookey recorded a version of the song at the Sydney Opera House in March of 1976, [Released in 1977 on the album "Real to Reel" and distributed by Sparrow Records.] in which he set up a fictitious trial scene. The Prosecutor, a snake, accused the song of being about marijuana, but Puff and Jackie protested. The judge finally leaves the case to the jury (the Opera House audience) and says if they will sing along with the song, it will be acquitted. The audience joins in with Stookey, and at the end of their sing-along, the judge declares "case dismissed."
The song appears in both "
Meet the Parents " and its sequel "Meet the Fockers " where there are many conversations and references to its drugs message.In January
2004 , as Yarrow was on campaigning with personal friend and Presidential candidateJohn Kerry , Kerry was reportedly videotaped gesturing as if puffing a joint as Yarrow sang "Puff". [" [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,108529,00.html Kerry 'Toke' Draws Little Smoke] ," "Fox News "]Other versions
Due to its immense popularity, the song has been covered by multiple artists, including:
*100 Folk Celsius (performed in Hungarian as "Paff, a bűvös sárkány")
*Aaron Lewis , the lead singer of the rock bandStaind , covered the song during one of his acoustic performances.
*Amazing Transparent Man (appears on the 1999 release, "No Fun Intended", and is titled as "Puff Daddy")
*Bing Crosby
* Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (recorded on 2005 "Puff the Magic Dragon" single, and on thechildren's music albumSongs for the Young at Heart )
*Broken Social Scene [ [http://www.stereogum.com/archives/mp3/another-comp-for-the-indie-kids-and-a-reminder-of.html Another Comp For The Indie Kids, And A Reminder Of How Broken Social Scene Can Be Unsafe For Children - Stereogum ] ]
*Brothers Four (the)
*The Chipmunks (from the 1965 album, "The Chipmunks Sing With Children")
*Dolly Parton
*Gregory Isaacs (for the "Reggae For Kids" project).
*Joan Manuel Serrat (Puf, el Drac Màgic)
*John Denver
*Henry Hall
*The Kingston Trio
*Tom Glazer (with children's chorus; featured on the album "On Top of Spaghetti")
*Mariko Kōda (featured as the 9th track on her "My Best Friend 2" album)
*Marlene Dietrich (performed in German as "Paff, Der Zauberdrachen")
* Seal
*The Seekers (performed live in concert)
*Tom Chapin
*Trini Lopez
*The Loop (band) [Puffmagic.com]
* [http://www.drinkingsongs.net/mp3s/1970s/1972ca-songs-of-sac-and-sea-(CD)/19-puff-the-magic-dragon.htm Southeast Asia version referring toUS Air Force gunships]
*Patsy Biscoe
*Grup de Folk (performed in Catalan as "Puff, el drac màgic")
*Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
*Roger Whittaker
*Rosenstolz (performed in German as "Paff, Der Zauberdrachen")
*The Irish Rovers
*Staind live acoustic album
*Paul Shanklin (Parody of the song done as "Barack the Magic Negro" in reference to aLos Angeles Times article in 2007. Shanklin imitatesAl Sharpton singing the tune through amegaphone . [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZyPaivOARM&feature=related] )
*Dizzee Rascal 's 2007 song "Lemon"
* [http://musicfortheblind.co.uk/archive.html#puff Nivi]References
External links
* [http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/puff.htm Urban Legends Reference Page] which disputes the drug-reference interpretation.
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3476801002597020377 Cartoon Adaptation]
* [http://www.tafkab.org/puff/puff_book.html Story of the cartoon adaptation]
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