# Is the Song "Puff the Magic Dragon" about Drugs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2013, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443 "2013-06-20T07:41:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/1 "2013-06-20T07:41:37Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wik2uc69WbU) I never thought so. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/2 "2013-06-20T08:04:23Z")
I think snopes looked at it, [quick search], yep: > **[Is 'Puff the Magic Dragon' About Marijuana?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/puff-the-magic-dragon/)** > > Is 'Puff, the Magic Dragon' a song about marijuana? > [@](#): > > 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.” ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/3 "2013-06-20T08:16:14Z")
Indeed, our nursery teacher read us story book featuring puff the magic dragon in the mid-1960s. The song was recorded in 1963 and the book must have been older. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/4 "2013-06-20T08:32:00Z")
I can’t find any confirmation that there was a mid-1960’s children book about Puff the Magic Dragon. Does anyone have a reference to it? The song supposedly came from a poem written in 1959 by Leonard Lipton. Peter Yarrow turned it into a song, and Peter, Paul, and Mary recorded it in 1963: > **[Puff, the Magic Dragon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puff,_the_Magic_Dragon)** > > "Puff, the Magic Dragon" (or just "Puff") is a 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 Le... ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/5 "2013-06-20T09:16:35Z")
A definite no. P, P & M continued to say so long after it would have made any difference at all, and I see no reason to disbelieve them. I’m familiar with the Nash poem too (although that’s about bravery and not loss of innocence) and wondered if there was any connection, so that’s interesting to learn. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/6 "2013-06-20T14:11:00Z")
Some years back, when Peter, Paul and Mary were performing here in Austin, Peter introduced it by saying, “Despite what you mayu have heard, this song is not about drugs. And I should know- I’m Puff’s daddy.” After the audience laughter stopped, he added in mock earnestness, “Really, it’s NOT about marijuana! I’d TELL you if it was!” And why WOULDN’T he tell us if it was? In 1962, perceptions that it was a song about pot could have kept the song from getting radio airplay, but fifty years later? Nobody would be angry or outraged. SO, why would he keep up the pretense NOW? It seems simpler and more logical to take him at his word. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/7 "2013-06-20T14:15:07Z")
I still have a copy of Lenny Lipton’s _The Super-8 Book_. . ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/8 "2013-06-20T14:18:31Z")
The OP’s been answered; maybe someone knows **Sublime** ’s body of work. Is the song _Smoke Two Joints_ drug related? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/9 "2013-06-20T16:17:01Z")
[Here’s the definitive statement on the subject.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OiOlnoyljk) ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/10 "2013-06-20T16:18:57Z")
About a year ago, I saw a PBS special with Peter & Paul, plus some fill-in chick taking Mary’s spot. Peter Yarrow specifically denied that _Puff the Magic Dragon_ had any hidden meanings. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/11 "2013-06-20T17:05:19Z")
So Peter doesn’t think it’s about pot. But maybe Lipton, who wrote the original poem (including the name “Puff”) does? Another case of this where I’m unconvinced is Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds not being about LSD, according to Lennon. I find it more plausible that he was so drugged up when he wrote it, that he forgot. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/12 "2013-06-20T17:11:39Z")
> [@mr.jp](#): > > So Peter doesn’t think it’s about pot. But maybe Lipton, who wrote the original poem (including the name “Puff”) does? > > Another case of this where I’m unconvinced is Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds not being about LSD, according to Lennon. I find it more plausible that he was so drugged up when he wrote it, that he forgot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. (See what I did there?) He continued to insist after admitting LSD and heroin use and five years in a public drunk that the title was a coincidence, written by his young son. You want it to be about drugs, but you can’t always get what you want. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/13 "2013-06-20T17:15:56Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You want it to be about drugs, but you can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you can Puff a little weed. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/14 "2013-06-20T17:16:52Z")
“Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” was based on his son Julian’s drawing of the same name (Julian named it himself). The drawing wasn’t destroyed and has been available for people to view since forever, but people still refuse to believe it. Here’s the [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/music/hidden/lucysky.asp) link. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/15 "2013-06-20T17:22:15Z")
I know all this, I just still don’t really believe it. What is more unlikely: 1. John Lennon wrote the song while on LSD, to some degree inspired by the painting, figured out to make the acronym, and forgot he had this thought when he sobered up. 2. A song that is one of the most LSD-sounding songs of all time, and has the acronym LSD, isn’t related to LSD. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/16 "2013-06-20T17:39:44Z")
From wikipedia: “Lipton was friends with Peter Yarrow’s housemate when they were all students at Cornell. He used Yarrow’s 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.” So it seems like Lipton and Peter Yarrow weren’t in that much contact about the lyrics of the song, and Liptons original version could be about pot, even if Yarrow didnt realize this. But I don’t actually think so. It’s only the word Puff that indicates this, and that could very easily be a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/17 "2013-06-20T17:41:37Z")
I guess I don’t see how it’s any more “LSD-sounding” than “Strawberry Fields Forever”, “Tomorrow Never Knows”, “I Am The Walrus” or any number of songs from the period - when a song was inspired by drugs, he basically had no problem admitting it, so I don’t see why he’d go out of his way to deny this one. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/18 "2013-06-20T17:45:50Z")
On issues as serious as this,[I always agree with Mr. Deniro](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFCwtoxX60g) ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/19 "2013-06-20T17:49:59Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > I guess I don’t see how it’s any more “LSD-sounding” than “Strawberry Fields Forever”, “Tomorrow Never Knows”, “I Am The Walrus” or any number of songs from the period - when a song was inspired by drugs, he basically had no problem admitting it, so I don’t see why he’d go out of his way to deny this one. I think it’s (somewhat) more LSD sounding than those, because it’s very visual. It really, really sounds like the visions you get during a trip. “Girl with kaleidoscope eyes” is right up there with “my hands are huge” for an obvious hallucinationish piece of lyrics. My theory is not that he is lying about it, but that he forgot about making the connection. Considering how fast he was writing songs in this period, while doing drugs frequently, I would be surprised if he could remember his thought processes for all of it. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443/20 "2013-06-20T18:31:51Z")
> [@mr.jp](#): > > I think it’s (somewhat) more LSD sounding than those, because it’s very visual. It really, really sounds like the visions you get during a trip. “Girl with kaleidoscope eyes” is right up there with “my hands are huge” for an obvious hallucinationish piece of lyrics. > > My theory is not that he is lying about it, but that he forgot about making the connection. Considering how fast he was writing songs in this period, while doing drugs frequently, I would be surprised if he could remember his thought processes for all of it. The problem with this explanation is that it is [directly contradicted](http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds/) by the stories told by Lennon as well as McCartney, who was there during the writing of the song. > [@John Lennon](#): > > The images were from Alice In Wonderland. > [@Paul McCartney](#): > > I showed up at John’s house and he had a drawing Julian had done at school with the title ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ above it. Then we went up to his music room and wrote the song, swapping psychedelic suggestions as we went. You are simply making up history. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-song-puff-the-magic-dragon-about-drugs/661443.md?page=2)