Puff, the Magic Dragon

  "Puff, the Magic Dragon" (or just "Puff") is an American folk song written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary from a poem by Leonard Lipton. It was made popular by Peter, Paul and Mary in a 1962 recording released in January 1963.

Lipton wrote a poem about a dragon in 1959, and, when Yarrow found it, he wrote the lyrics to "Puff" based on the poem. After the song was released, Yarrow searched for Lipton to give him credit for the song.

The lyrics for "Puff, the Magic Dragon" are based on a 1959 poem by Leonard Lipton, then a 19-year-old Cornell University student. Lipton drew inspiration from Ogden Nash's poem "The Tale of Custard the Dragon". The song tells the story of an immortal dragon named Puff and his playmate, Jackie Paper, as they embark on adventures in the fictional county of Honalee. As time passes, Jackie matures and abandons his childhood games, leaving Puff sad and alone.

Lipton, who was acquainted with Peter Yarrow through a mutual friend at Cornell, used Yarrow's typewriter to commit his poem to paper. He forgot about it until years later, when a friend informed him that Yarrow was seeking him out to properly credit him for the lyrics. Upon reconnecting, Yarrow shared half of the songwriting credit with Lipton, who received royalties for the song until his death in 2022. Yarrow later died in 2025.

In later performances, Yarrow changed the line "A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys" to the more inclusive "A dragon lives forever, but not so girls and boys". The original poem included a stanza about Puff finding a new playmate, but this was not incorporated into the song.

Cash Box described it as "a charming folk tune, about a magic dragon, right-up-the-vocal-alley of the remarkably successful folksters."

After the song's initial success, speculation arose—as early as a 1964 article in Newsweek—that the song contained veiled references to smoking marijuana. The word "paper" in the name of Puff's human friend Jackie Paper was said to be a reference to rolling papers, the words "by the sea" were interpreted as "by the C" (as in cannabis), the word "mist" stood for "smoke", the land of "Honahlee" stood for hashish, and "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.

The authors of the song repeatedly rejected this interpretation and have strongly and consistently denied that they intended any references to drug use. Both Lipton and Yarrow had stated, "'Puff, the Magic Dragon' is not about drugs." Yarrow frequently explained that the song is about the hardships of growing older and has no relationship to drug-taking. He also said that the song has "never had any meaning other than the obvious one" and is about the "loss of innocence in children." He dismissed the suggestion of it being associated with drugs as "sloppy research".

In 1973, Peter Yarrow's bandmate, Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary, also defended the song's innocence in a novel way. He recorded a version of the song at the Sydney Opera House in March 1973 where he set up a fictitious trial scene. The prosecutor of the trial claimed the song was about marijuana, but Puff and Jackie protested. The judge finally left the case to the "jury" (the Opera House audience) and said if they would sing along, the song would be acquitted. The audience joined in with Stookey and at the end of their sing-along, the judge declared the "case dismissed."

Up to his death in January 2025, Yarrow maintained that the song did not reference marijuana.

In 1961, Peter 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. The trio's 1962 recording of "Puff the Magic Dragon" entered the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts on March 30, 1963, and peaked at number two, kept out of the top spot by "I Will Follow Him" by Little Peggy March. It topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts. It also reached number ten on Billboard's R&B chart.^[23] In Canada, the song reached number five in April 1963.

To download the easy alphanotes sheet music, look here. Enjoy!