WHO KNEW? - Who remembers Puff the Magic Dragon? I loved this song as I was only a young child when it it was very popular playing on the radio - Now who knew this - Speculation about drug references After the songs initial success, speculation arose — as early as a 1964 article in Newsweek — that the song contained veiled references to smoking marijuana.[5] The word paper in the name of Puffs human friend (Jackie Paper) was said to be a reference to rolling papers, and the word dragon was interpreted as draggin, i.e. inhaling smoke; similarly, the name Puff was alleged to be a reference to taking a puff on a joint. The supposition was claimed to be common knowledge in a letter by a member of the public to The New York Times in 1984.[6] The lyrics for Puff, the Magic Dragon were based on a 1959 poem by Leonard Lipton, a 19-year-old Cornell University student.[1] Lipton was inspired by an Ogden Nash poem titled Custard the Dragon, about a realio, trulio little pet dragon.[2] The lyrics tell a 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 and leaves Puff alone and depressed. (Because of the line A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys, the lyrics may imply to some that Jackie Paper dies.) The story of the song takes place by the sea in the fictional land of Honalee (the spelling used by author Lenny Lipton, though non-authoritative variations abound.)[citation needed] Lipton was friends with Peter Yarrows housemate when they were all students at Cornell. He used Yarrows typewriter to get the poem out of his head. He then forgot about it until years later, when a friend called and told him Yarrow was looking for him, to give him credit for the lyrics. On making contact Yarrow gave Lipton half the songwriting credit, and he still gets royalties from the song. In an effort to be gender-neutral, Yarrow now sings the line A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys as A dragon lives forever, but not so girls and boys. This implies that Jackie Paper can be either a girl or a boy, even though it originally was about a boy. The original poem also 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 remembers the verse in any detail, and the paper that was left in Yarrows typewriter in 1958 has since been lost.[3] In 1961, Yarrow joined 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; their 1962 recording of Puff reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and spent two weeks atop the Billboard easy listening chart in early 1963.[4] It also reached number ten on Billboards R&B chart. Speculation about drug references After the songs initial success, speculation arose — as early as a 1964 article in Newsweek — that the song contained veiled references to smoking marijuana.[5] The word paper in the name of Puffs human friend (Jackie Paper) was said to be a reference to rolling papers, and the word dragon was interpreted as draggin, i.e. inhaling smoke; similarly, the name Puff was alleged to be a reference to taking a puff on a joint. The supposition was claimed to be common knowledge in a letter by a member of the public to The New York Times in 1984.[6] The authors of the song have repeatedly rejected this urban legend and have strongly and consistently denied that they intended any references to drug use.[7] Peter Yarrow has frequently explained that Puff is about the hardships of growing older and has no relationship to drug-taking.[8][9] He has also said of the song that it never had any meaning other than the obvious one and is about the loss of innocence in children.[10] In 1976, Yarrows bandmate Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary also upheld the songs innocence. He recorded a version of the song at the Sydney Opera House in March 1976,[11] in which he set up a fictitious trial scene. The Prosecutor 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.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 17:11:34 +0000