What is the song "Puff the Magic Dragon" really about?

Question

And please don't give me the blanket statement "weed man, and drugs, it's all about weed and drugs" because well that is somewhat obvious. But what are the lyrics really about? Jackie Paper? Strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff? Honalee? Does anyone have an educated answer? I have searched online and not found anything concrete.

Answer 1

I always thought it was about a dragon. I didn't like that a boy was called Jackie because I was called Jackie sometimes and that's a girl's name. Whose last name is Paper anyhow? Have you ever heard the last name Paper? What is so fancy about string? Why does a kid have sealing wax and what does he do with it? I actually thought it was "ceiling" wax. Why was there wax on the ceiling and how did he get it off the ceiling? Is he putting the wax together with the string and making his own toys? Is the string from a kite that broke? These are the questions that ran through my mind as a kid.....but most of all I wanted to know what the Otomus was that they would frolic through. Later, as an adult, I was listening one day and it hit me like a bolt of lightening....OH! IT'S "AUTUMN MIST"!!!!!! Duh!

Answer 2

Claim: The Peter, Paul & Mary tune" Puff, the Magig Dragon" is a coded song about marijuana
Status: FALSE
Origins: no, "Puff the Magic Dragon" is not about marijuana or any other type of drug. It is what its writers have always claimed it to be: a song about the innocence of childhood lost.
The poem that formed the basis of the song, "Puff" was written in 1959 by Leonard Lipton, a 19 year old Cornell student. Lipton was inspired by an Ogden Nash ryme about a "Really-O-Truly-O Dragon", and using a dragon as the central figure, he came up with a poem about the end of childhood innocence. Lipton passed his work along to a friend, fellow Cornell student (and folk music enthusiast) Peter Yarrow, who put a melody to the wordsand wrote additional lyrics to vreate the song, "Puff, The Magic Dragon". After Yarrow teamed up with Mary Travers and Paul Stookey in 1961 to form Peter, Paul & Mary, the trio performed the song in live shows; their 1962 live recording of "Puff" reached #2 on the Billboard charts in early 1963.
The 1960's being what they were, however, any song based on oblique or allegorical lyrics were subject to re- interpretation as a drug song and so it was with "Puff". ( Fot Peter, Paul & Mary, at least, the revelation that their song was "really" about marijuana came after the song finished its chart run. Other bands were not so fortunate and accusations of drug lyrics caused some radio stations to ban songs such as The Byrd's Eight Miles High from their playlists."Puff" was an obvious name for a song about smoking pot; little Jackie Paper's surname referred to rolling papers; "autumn mist" was either clouds of marijuana smoke or a drug-induced state; the land of "HanaH Lee" was really the hawaiian village of Hanalei, known for its particularly potentmarijuana plants, and so on. As Peter Yarrow has demonstrated in countless concert performances, any song, even the Star-Spalngeld Banner" can be interpreted as a drug song.
Hope this helps

Answer 3

it originally was a poem. The dragon 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.

wikipedia is your friend

Answer 4

peter yarrow wrote a song called I dig rock and roll music where in that song he mentions that writers would have a hidden message in a song he says the radio wont play it unless you lay it in between the lines I think that's exactly what he did in this song cant get passed the name Jackie paper why not Jackie jones isn't it odd both songs were peter paul and mary songs

Answer 5

There was actually a cartoon made about it. If you can, try to do a search for it on youtube.com. You may get lucky. It was one of my favorites when I was a kid. That should explain what it's about. Also, grab a box of tissues. It's a tear-jerker.

Answer 6

puff the magic dragon is an old folk song.. it is a simple childrens song.. dont overthink it!!

http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/puff.htm

Claim: The Peter, Paul & Mary tune "Puff, the Magic Dragon" is a coded song about marijuana.
Status: False.

Origins: No,
"Puff, the Magic Dragon" is not about marijuana, or any other type of drug. It is what its writers have always claimed it to be: a song about the innocence of childhood lost.

The poem that formed the basis of the song "Puff, the Magic Dragon" was written in 1959 by Leonard Lipton, a nineteen-year-old Cornell student. Lipton was inspired by an Ogden Nash rhyme about a "Really-O Truly-O Dragon," and, using a dragon as the central figure, he came up with a poem about the end of childhood innocence. Lipton passed his work along to a friend, fellow Cornell student (and folk music enthusiast) Peter Yarrow, who put a melody to the words and wrote additional lyrics to create the song "Puff, the Magic Dragon." After Yarrow teamed up with Mary Travers and Paul Stookey in 1961 to form Peter, Paul & Mary, the trio performed the song in live shows; their 1962 recording of "Puff" reached #2 on the Billboard charts in early 1963.

The 1960s being what they were, however, any song based on oblique or allegorical lyrics was subject to reinterpretation as a "drug song," and so it was with "Puff." (For Peter, Paul & Mary, at least, the revelation that their song was "really" about marijuana came after the song had finished its chart run; other groups were not so fortunate, and accusations of "drug lyrics" caused some radio stations to ban songs such as the Byrds' "Eight Miles High" from their playlists.) "Puff" was an obvious name for a song about smoking pot; little Jackie Paper's surname referred to rolling papers; "autumn mist" was either clouds of marijuana smoke or a drug-induced state; the land of "Hanah Lee" was really the Hawaiian village of Hanalei, known for its particularly potent marijuana plants; and so on. As Peter Yarrow has demonstrated in countless concert performances, any song -- even "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- can be interpreted as a "drug song."

Here is what the people who created and popularized the song have said about it:


Leonard Lipton (co-writer):
["Puff" is about] loss of innocence, and having to face an adult world. It's surely not about drugs. I can tell you that at Cornell in 1959, no one smoked grass. I find the fact that people interpret it as a drug song annoying. It would be insidious to propagandize about drugs in a song for little kids.



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Peter Yarrow (co-writer):

As the principal writer of the song, I can assure you it's a song about innocence lost. It's easier to interpret "The Star-Spangled Banner" as a drug song than "Puff, the Magic Dragon." This is just a funny rumor that was promulgated by Newsweek magazine [who ran a cover story about covert drug messages in pop music]. There is no basis for it. It's inane at this point and really unfortunate, because even in Hong Kong it's not played because of the allegation it's about drugs. But I assure you it's not.

When 'Puff' was written, I was too innocent to know about drugs. What kind of a meanspirited SOB would write a children's song with a covert drug message?



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Mary Travers:

Peter wrote the song in 1958 [sic], and it is not about marijuana. Believe me, if he wanted to write a song about marijuana, he would have written a song about marijuana.

Sightings: A debate about "Puff"'s meaning turns up in the 2000 film Meet the Parents.

Answer 7

i always thought that it was written by a guy who was remembering his innocent childhood days, and the imaginary friend he used to play with.
gets a bit sad at the end when, he is obviously too old to have imaginary friends so, he goes away.

Answer 8

Everyone speculates but to me it's about a time in any young person's life when they stop being a child and grow up - or don't as the case may be.

Answer 9

It was written by a college student who was reminiscing about childhood. Nothing more.

Sorry, I have no link. But I read it, in one of those old things called "books."

Answer 10

It's not about drugs.... big myth there... it's basically about lost childhood, growing up.