PETER,PAUL and MARY - Puff the magic dragon REACTION - First time hearing

[@bebic7903]

If you've ever seen them in concert or even watched one of their concerts on PBS or watched an interview by Peter Yarrow, the composer, you will hear him say that he did write the song about a child's imagination and the passing of youth. Nothing more, nothing less. Congrats to the people who actually get this.

[@jdw5678]

PP&M member Noel Paul Stookey recorded a live solo album, in which he said the same thing, it's a song about a little boy who came of age. The original "Toy Story."

[@thomastimlin1724]

Bravo, and to the people who still believe the concocted BS about drugs, weed, secret messages.... grow up!

[@MagetaTheLionHeart]

I grew up with this song, and as a teenager I did believe in the alternate drug idea but grew out of it. Now it's my favorite lullaby to sing to my nieces and nephews.

[@johnoconnell7978]

Yes--Puff was only a product of Jackie Paper's imagination. When Jackie got older, his imagery changed, and Puff was simply forgotten.

[@skasgarden]

@@johnoconnell7978 Wow! Now at 71, I did not get that Puff was Jackie Paper's imagination. Songs can be confusing, when I heard it 60+/- years ago. Thank you for this insight.

[@daleb1279]

Peter Paul and Mary had so many hit songs. So many people believed this was a song about pot but it is really just a children's song. I think their most hauntingly beautiful song is their version of The Cruel War. Mary Travers was one of the most amazing vocalists of her generation and doesn't get enough credit because she didn't seek pop star status.

[@threekidzmom04]

I agree with you. It's about growing up and leaving your childhood behind

[@arthurking6846]

True, but it was adopted by the hemp-heads because of the title

[@blackbird8900]

The lyrics of this song always made me feel so sad as a child, the thought of Puff losing his playmate. And as an adult it actually hits even harder, watching my own children growing up and losing that childlike sense of wonder.

[@edprzydatek8398]

Exactly.

[@valogden]

Yes and now my grandchildren. I have sung this to each of them and still get teary.

[@supersonicsoulsupreme1414]

Me too always felt so sad for Puff😢

[@Dee-JayW]

Me too!

[@coocoocachooglin]

I guess I wasn’t the only one who as a child thought this song was foreboding.

[@KevinRCarr]

No. It really is a children's song, or a song about childhood's end for we adults to get tears in our eyes over.

[@donnacorey5682]

I was 6 years old when I first heard this song and it made me cry me eyes out. I'm now 65 and I still cry my eyes out.

[@cindyfalstrom7231]

Me too, every time

[@maryhoffman7036]

Me too.

[@juliethompson5160]

Peter Yarrow, the composer of the song and lead singer, says it is about the passing of youth. Later in the sixties it became fashionable to look for hidden meanings in everything. Songs were banned from radio for being "drug related", even if they were not. Read into it what you will, but the same fashion claimed Paul McCartney was killed in a motor bike accident in the mid sixties.

[@rubroken]

I remember the "Paul is dead" thing that went on for a long time in the sixties. The Abbey Road album cover was a play on that. John is in front, dressed like a preacher, Paul was dressed as in a coffin barefoot, Ringo was dressed as a mortician, and George was in jeans and shirt like a gravedigger, at least that was what we thought when the album came out. By then everyone knew Paul was very much alive.

[@paulwhite5840]

The same hysteria got Rocky Mountain High banned from the airwaves as well. Puff represents the child in all of us. Sadly, adulting takes its toll and the older we get, the farther from our childhood memories we go.puff represents our ability to imagine and dream, the very things that energized us.then and now.

[@anthonymunn8633]

Sad there are still people that believe the Paul is Dead crap.You can find channels devoted to it on Yourube.There are some that believe John was replaced back then.

[@almostfm]

Honestly, (and I remember the song coming out when I was young) if you ignore the name of the dragon, the song is exactly what it appears to be: a song about a child's imagination, and how at a certain point, he loses the ability to imagine a magical dragon. And that's why at the end, the dragon goes into it's cave and doesn't come out again-because he only lives in the mind of Jackie.

[@pammie9411]

Thanks you nailed it...I have the DVD

[@valogden]

As a little girl when I would hear this on the radio I would cry when Jackie Paper no longer went to play and Puff went into his cave. A beautiful song from my childhood.

[@ParkerAllen2]

People have been reading too much into this song ever since it came out. The songwriters always denied it was about pot and I'd take them at their word. Dragons belch fire and smoke, so "Puff" is a perfectly good name for a dragon. People used to look for hidden meanings in lyrics in the 1960s and 1970s all the time and they were frequently wrong. I remember I had a music teacher in the 1970s who was sure "Hey Jude" was about taking drugs. She thought the song was co-written by John Lennon who was the Beatles' biggest drug user and she thought lines like "So let it out and let it in" and "Remember to let her under your skin" were needle references. Well, of course, she was wrong about all of it. The song was written by Paul McCartney and they lyrics were meant to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

[@gvbezoff]

Yeah, and H.R. Pufnstuf had nothing to do with weed either. Nobody used weed in the '60s.

[@ParkerAllen2]

@@gvbezoff Lot's of people used weed. But not everything was about weed. John Lennon talked about how frustrating it was that people were always reading things into the Beatles lyrics that weren't intended. There's no harm in it, but some people might be interested in knowing when the misinterpretations aren't true.

[@Miqlintock]

Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff

[@taniaPBear]

These guys were about as wholesome as it gets, they weren't writing songs about getting high. People can read meanings into everything if they get it in their head. It's a sweet song about growing up and losing innocence and imagination. Kings and princes, pirate ships are the things children imagine in their games. Don't believe everything Ben Stiller tells you Harri, lol,

[@pauldover1403]

Tania gets it, Harri. Puff was an imaginary friend for Little Jackie Paper as he was growing up and through Jackie's belief he became real (although grown-ups couldn't see him). But as Jackie grew up he lost his interest in "let's believe" games and forgot about Puff. Because Puff was real his rejection by Jackie cut him to the quick and he never knew happiness again. He retreated to his cave to mourn the loss of things that had been. This was played most weeks on "Junior Choice." And I used to cry each time when it got to the bit about, Dragons live forever, but not so little boys" because I couldn't stand the thoughts of the hurt caused to Puff by his friend's abandonment, I won't have been the only one. Some years ago I was a relief presenter on a small internet radio programme which catered for people who loved folk and associated music and who were pretty musically sophisticated. But if you played "Puff, The Magic Dragon," "Morningtown Ride" or "The Carnival is Over" you knew that you were going to get a big positive reaction. There are no drugs here, just children being children then growing up.

[@taniaPBear]

@@pauldover1403 I used get choked up at that bit too Paul. Also, that's a cute doggo.

[@peterblood50]

There were no drug references in this song. Just a simple story about a boy and his imaginary dragon. When the boy outgrows his imaginary friend, Puff retires to his cave never to come out again. Growing older can and should be hard on imaginary friendships.

[@danielrockmyer949]

Somebody allready wrote this here but I'm writting about it anyway. The song is not about refer as so many think. It is about a little innocent boy and his imaginary friend Puff. But the innocent boy grew up and never visited Puff again. It's such a sad and very beautifully done song by PP&M. It still gives me chills when I hear it. +++

[@jonsher7682]

The writer, Peter Yarrow, has often explained the origin of the song, which has nothing to do with drug use, but so many drug users of that generation instead otherwise that it has become an urban myth. Yarrow wrote the lyrics based on a poem written by a chum in university, who in turn based the poem written by Ogden Nash called The Tale of Custard the Dragon. It is truly a song about a fable and the loss of innocence and childhood, about how the dreams and imagination of a child can soar as long as he or she believes anything is possible, but that childhood ends, dreams dissipate, and might dragons cease to roar.

[@wnsafford1854]

To add some; Leonard Lipton was a friend of Peter Yarrow's roommate. In 1959, Leonard borrowed Peter's typewriter, wrote his poem (again, based on the Ogden Nash poem) & then forgot the poem in the typewriter, where Peter found it some years later & wrote the song. Peter is such an honorable guy, he then tracked Leonard down, who'd forgotten all about the poem, & gave him co-writing credit on Puff The Magic Dragon (for which Lipton still gets royalties).

[@philippesauvie639]

Harry. There is a different version of this song and it is a lot less upbeat believe it or not. But, OMG! The song always and I mean always makes me cry! It’s a fantastic song about the ark of life to me and that has affected me since I was a little boy. I’m 62 now and nothings changed really. Now I think you got another take on it and that’s OK but for me it takes me back to being three years old. Anyway, Stay young. 😢

[@webbtrekker534]

I'm 76 and remember clearly when this song first came out. Where did that wide eyed teen go that first heard this song? Oh, right. The Navy, Viet Nam, Watergate and the list goes on........

[@bethcrumpton476]

"A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys" 😪😪😪

[@joelliebler5690]

Same for me at 62 as well!👍🏻😊

[@joelliebler5690]

@@webbtrekker534 All True And The political hateful climate of today’s world!

[@lauralane4808]

Peter Yarrow says that its just about growing up. No subtext or hidden message. Peter, Paul and Mary have fantastic harmony and some great songs.

[@gingers.5933]

The song has nothing to do with weed, it is about a child's growing up, they actually did an entire album of children's songs called "Peter, Paul and mommy", beautiful album.

[@royperkins9176]

Thanks for the reaction. To me it is simply a beautiful song which speaks of outgrowing certain things in our lives we once did but had to grow up and stop doing things we once did

[@flutesong5527]

yep, got to say I always have tears by the end of the song. Not about weed this time, just a sweet song about growing up

[@KevinRCarr]

Seriously, don't out-clever yourself on this. It is exactly what it purports itself to be, a song about the magic of childhood coming to an end.

[@janabraam7963]

As teenagers we all thought it was about drugs, but its not. It's about a dragon who has a little boy as a friend. But the little boy grows up & is sad. Now, I'm sad because after I became a parent, I watched my children grow & leave me. I cry every time I hear this.

[@victorcowboywest]

The song is really about losing the innocence of childhood. It will be a hard find, by there is an animated movie based on this song.

[@edithdavis2848]

Now your getting back in to my favorite era. It is a children's tale. About a young boy growing out of childhood, to adulthood, the passing.

[@dagmar.6954]

Love this trio. They were an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961. "Puff, the Magic Dragon" was released in 1963. Despite rumors that the song refers to drugs, it is actually about the lost innocence of childhood. They had a lot of great hits such as "Lemon Tree", "500 Miles", "If I Had A Hammer", "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", "Leaving On A Jet Plane", "Day Is Done". They recorded quite a few of Bob Dylan's songs such as "Blowin' In The Wind", "The Times They Are a-Changin'", "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", "When The Ship Comes In".

[@User_vfjp_927_baltimore_sc]

I remember learning about them when I was in Buffalo, NY with my grandparents ages ago. "Wedding Song" is beautiful. Thanks Harri👍✌

[@BillYovino]

Their harmony was incredible. Check out their versions of "The First Time Ever I saw Your Face" and "Early Morning Rain".

[@arthurking6846]

The song is about leaving childhood behind, but it was adopted by the hemp-heads because of its title and it's mellow tone.

[@aprilcorbett]

You know this song still gets to me! When I was 5 years old, I got my first record player. I got a double album set of childrens songs to go with it. I remember this being my favorite song! I would play this song over and over for hours on end. I would sit in my bedroom and cry and cry as I listened to it. My grandmother would ask me what was wrong & I would tell her how heartbroken I was for Puff, because Jackie didn’t love him anymore! It may sound silly, but this song tore at my heart as a little girl. Now I am a grandmother of my first baby granddaughter & I still cry as I listen to this song 💔

[@turnerdan53]

I always thought is was a song about lost childhood. Another about wonder of theirs is The Marvelous Toy. always loved it at Christmas time.

[@Cynthia...]

This song still brings tears to my eyes. 😪

[@markf3517]

I was a kid when this song was released. The group sang it nearly every time they were on TV back then. The networks would NEVER have let them do this if the song was about drugs. When my daughter was little, I thought of Puff nearly every time I read The Giving Tree to her.

[@JimiBurleigh]

Peter (Yarrow) has said many times that this song is about nothing more than the "loss of innocence".

[@perryallan3524]

Correct. He has also said he wrote the song in 1958 or 1959 which is about a decade before marijuana became a popular recreational drug. I'm old enough to know and I have a sister who was part of the hippie culture. Its just a childhood song. My understanding is that he wrote it based on a poem by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow shared writer's credit of the song with him, which made Leonard Lipton a fair amount of money.

[@sheilamccarthy9702]

It's a children's song. Peter performs it at schools. The last time I saw him in 2019 he joked that he would usually have the kids come up on stage and sing the song with him. Since there were no kids at this show, he got some of the adults to sit on stage with him and sing it.

[@keninboulder76]

I played this on a ukulele in sixth grade with 10 other kids . We had no idea about it's real meaning of course. I love it

[@robertjohnson5796]

To my ears you cannot beat their rendition of Pete Seeger's "If I Had a Hammer". The harmonies are the sweetest music I know. Honestly.

[@blackbird8900]

Their version of If I Had A Hammer is amazing, probably on my top 20 list of all time songs. The video of them singing it at the March on Washington is incredible. My other favourites by PP&M are 500 Mile and Early Morning Rain.

[@ssadvweld1]

The lyrics for "Puff, the Magic Dragon" are based on a 1959 poem by Leonard Lipton. Lipton was inspired by an Ogden Nash poem titled "Custard the Dragon", about a "realio, trulio little pet dragon". Lipton passed his poem on to friend and fellow Cornell student Peter Yarrow, who created music and more lyrics to make the poem into the song.

[@hairyhondaman]

Peter, Paul, and Mary are a classic example of folk music gaining popularity in the sixties. They really did an excellent rendition of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind".

[@doriwiljt]

I loved this song as a child and I always tear up whenever I hear it now.

[@DSanto-bk6oq]

Jeez, Harri...I love your reactions but I think you might have gotten carried away with this one. I've heard the theories of pot references too...since the 60's. But in a world of lies and conspiracy theories and hidden meanings, I believe I'll choose to believe the song's writers Leonard Lipton and Paul Stookey as well as Mary Travers and Peter Yarrow who have all said that the song is absolutely not about smoking weed...that it is, instead, about childhood and growing up. Now...let's talk about the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". :-)

[@lexiburrows8127]

We used to sing this song in school when I was little. This was at the back-end of the '60's. It used to make me cry then. Of course, at that age I did not get the full nuance - I just felt sorry for the dragon! Mind you, ALL the songs we had to do made me cry. We also did Scarlet Ribbons and that one about the old, grey goose being dead.

[@damonhines8187]

I too was 6-7 when this came out, and always found its wistful evocation of the passing of life's more innocent and fanciful preoccupations hauntingly beautiful, slightly sad and leaving me looking forward to hearing it again.

[@edithdavis2848]

Love the trio. Mary has a marvelous voice. People seems to over look folk singers, When judging .

[@Dee-JayW]

This is song of coming of age for young Jackie Paper who outgrew his imaginary friend …I thought this song, as a child, was SO SO SAD for PUFF! Makes me teary eyed. You need to do a deep dive into this incredible group. Mary Travers voice is like an angel

[@sonia4641]

This song was a big hit with children and requested week after week for years on the BBC radio's 'Children's Favourites /Junior Choice' programmes. My parents didn't go with the crowd but requested the B side to this, a clever little ditty called 'The Worm Song'. It was played on the programme, and the unusual request noticed by whoever was doing 'Pick of the Week' that week. So my name and request were heard twice on the radio! And quite by chance we heard it on the PotW programme which we didn't listen to regularly....!

[@sonia4641]

I need to correct myself: Nina and Frederick we're the other performers who had a hit with Puff the Magic Dragon,, and 'The Worm Song' was the B side on their record (and it's not the same Worm Song more readily found on KZbin, but this one: m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZCZp5iHf8mNgc0

[@SkolVikings-jq7yf]

My Mom brought me to a Peter Paul and Mary concert when I was in kindergarten…mid 70’s. They used to play it at the end of the show, but all the children fell asleep, so in later years they played it at the beginning. This is about children growing up, not about drugs. Peter Yarrow said so.

[@Judy0910]

This song was out when folk music was really popular in the early 60's.

[@edprzydatek8398]

Harri, I've watched many of your reactions and have enjoyed them by and large. But this time you're just wrong, wrong, wrong. This is a song about how we all grow up and, sadly, abandon our childhood dreams and imagination. It's really beautiful in a sad way. I don't think Peter, Paul and Mary ever put out a drug related song.

[@thomastimlin1724]

Well said...Harri disappoints me this time, this was in 1963, a different world, peaked at #2 on May 11, 1963, about 6 months before President Kennedy was assassinated, before the Vietnam War ramped up. We had a serious TV Code, strong FCC rules that have since been deregulated, bought and paid for in the name of both freedom, and a cash register ringing for cable and internet TV, and conglomerate radio networks...yes this drug reference bull crap never would have been allowed then or anything controversial. The rumors came later, long after the song was off the billboard chart, and music and youth culture had changed. The drug culture in the latter half of the 1960's WANTED it to be about drugs as a smarmy attitude to go with the times. Idiotic at best. Harri was preconditioned to get it wrong, begging the question based on what he has heard. Stick with the facts, what the composer Peter Yarrow has said over and over. Stay in context of the time it was released. Not everything in the 1960's was about drugs, and least of all, this children's song.

[@franklopez2803]

60s version of Toy Story 3. Childhood doesn’t last forever. Kids get old.

[@dbegley990]

It really isn't about drugs. It was an age where you could imagine and fantasize and not be such a cynic.

[@ednoponen2943]

One of favorite early folk groups - most folkies found to be a bit too "commercial", but I loved them. I saw them very early ("Lemon Tree" was their only hit tune at the time. We were in a very small Pizza joint of all things, so I was able to get up very close, mere feet away, and then meet and chat with them - in fact they invited a friend and myself back to small dressing room. My friend was a budding folk singer, and Peter taught him a few guitar licks. Really sweet folks! One of a kind! There are lots of levels to "Puff . . ." - it was the topic of many a deep, all-night discussion in the dorm at the U of MN in 1962-3. The other two biggest folk acts at that time were Joan Baez and The Kingston Trio, with Dylan lurking just around the corned, literally over in another part of Minneapolis. .

[@garyarnett1220]

Harri, if you think this is anything more than a song about growing up, then you were fooled. If you want to really hear Mary Travers voice try her solo covers of "Rhymes and Reasons" or "Children One And All" both so poignant and beautiful.

[@aisaxonawiat6484]

I think you're reading too much into it and should just accept it at face value.

[@brendasheehan2844]

For me this song reminds me of how ur childhood dosnt last forever as u get older things change and as the song says dragons live forever but unfortunately people don't pretty sad when u think about it 😔

[@johnandrews3151]

This song can still bring a tear to my eye.

[@rescuelover7891]

I believe it's just a growing up song. The things and makeup stories when you're little but then you grow up and give up your childhood fantasies. It makes me cry every time I hear it. My 2nd husband died when I was 37 and he wanted this song played at his service. It's the loss of childhood and innocence we always thought.

[@supersonicsoulsupreme1414]

Harri this song is about the innocents of childhood. About a little boy growing up nothing more than that. Can understand how some people can read more into the lyrics especially this being a song from the 60s Either way always brings a tear to my eyes Beautiful choice for a reaction 👍👍✌️

[@larrystuder8543]

there are claims that it's a drug song. Peter Yarrow did an intro for it at one of their televised concerts. He said, it's a song about the loss of innocence of children, that there never was any secret meaning, and you can believe it because you've now heard it from the Dragon's mouth . He wrote the song. PP& M usually included at least one song for children in every album. In later, live concert versions, they added a verse where "Puff, the magic dragon, LIVES," -- Shouted, "PRESENT TENSE !"- "by the sea."

[@danjoda755]

Sincere thanks to everybody who eloquently made it clear that this is NOT a hidden-meaning homage to marijuana. Harry, my respect for you and your past efforts inhibit me from giving your reaction a thumbs down, but you're getting too enamored of your own cleverness. ✌️

[@1lthrnk]

We sang this when I was in grade school. We didn’t really know what all those things were for but we kinda figured it out as we saw our parents kinda duck away and have a half sheepish smile. We lived in a very small town but we kinda figured out what they were singing about. Before the third grade most don’t really know about dugs. 🚬🚬🚬

[@rama30]

Fun fact - the muppet "Janice" was based on Mary.

[@anthonymunn8633]

They were wholesome and were horrified to find people believed it was about drugs.Although they would have fun with the idea in their later shows.

[@willhorting5317]

The only people who actually believe that the lyrics have ANYTHING to do with pot, are themselves, drug users. The composer and singer insisted that it's about the loss of a child's imagination as he/she grows up. And later on, the lyrics were turned into at least one movie (maybe more). It's sad that a simple children's song is instantly assumed to be a song about drugs. If your mind automatically goes there, then you obviously need help.

[@gvbezoff]

Yeah, people will adopt something that speaks to them and attach their own meaning to it. No harm in it, really. If Judy Garland can become a gay icon, Puff can be about weed.

[@trumpeterDave]

According to Wikipedia the composer of Puff the Magic Dragon Peter Yarrow said that the song is about the passing of Youth. So I guess this is one of those situations where it's in the ear of the beholder. But then a lot of people thought Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was about LSD and John Lennon insisted that the song was an homage to a drawing that his school-age son at the time had drawn for him which he called Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. And then again there's always the satanic messages that people have claimed to have heard when playing Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven backwards. Of course in my opinion if you're listening to your music backwards you either have some connection to the underworld or perhaps you're listening to a Justin Bieber recording and praying to God that playing it backwards will make it listenable.

[@thomastimlin1724]

Leave It To Bieber 🤣 Eddie Haskell: "Listen squirt, I tried playing the record backwards, and it still stinks..."

[@johnandrews3151]

This is a song about innocence lost.

[@kennethwallace8897]

Loved. Loved , Mary Travers, losing her was a tough one, especially for fans who grew up with her. and their great harmonies.

[@kirkhall2099]

Yep. Absolutely about a childrens story no if ands or buts about it. AND the group has tried to clarify it for years.

[@Salve01]

Listen to the live version of "Puff" with Paul's wonderful introduction.

[@panamericachicago]

Wrong, my friend... It's about the passing of youth- Pure and Simple. Come join those of us who still believe in Peace, Love and Innocence.... You'll be glad you did.

[@pamalaalford1081]

It was just a children's song about imagination and growing up. At the time it was entirely appropriate. We did not try to 'read" things in to it - we accepted and enjoyed it for what it was. The authir says he wrote it as a children's song. I loved it, my kids loved it ... always made me cry. But, I guess if people want to make it sonething else- they will,. Love ❤ you and your channel - a big fan

[@donrogers1337]

Harri, You play great music but some times You read to much into them. It is just a simple song about a young boy passing into adulthood.

[@tedcheeseman2914]

It is like a fairy tale about a little boy who had a pet dragon and when he grew up he out grew his friend the the dragon and dragon was sad

[@romnelsalazar6646]

Please listen to their song 500 Miles. Mary sang lead, and the song is haunting

[@darylemurphy9478]

I have always liked thinking this song was about drugs(being a child of the 60's) but it really isn't. It's about childhood and becoming an adult and the loss of innocence and wonder, which I hope need not happen.

[@pammie9411]

Yes, it is a children's story

[@rodneygriffin7666]

It's a children's song like Yellow Submarine. You can Interpret it however you wish. That's the beauty of music.

[@DannyD714]

if you read anything into this song other than the loss of innocence and imagination, you have missed the point. if you were an only child, a latchkey kid or just a boy or girl who didn't have any real friends, you understand this song completely.

[@IllumeEltanin]

Harri, while not Peter, Paul and Mary, I highly recommend you give a listen to Noel Paul Stookey's ("Paul" of Peter, Paul and Mary) song, Wedding Song. Some call it There Is Love. Stookey wrote it as the Best Man's gift when he was the Best Man at Peter Yarrow's (Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary) wedding, and then recorded it for his first solo album. It will honestly take your breath away. Trust me.

[@roberthalpern5454]

So true!

[@dougca7086]

React to Blowing in the Wind a song written by Bob Dylan Peter Paul and Mary made it into a huge hit

[@jeffmalloy8200]

The loss of childhood innocence/imagination and the reality that all things are possible as we become indoctrinated into adult societal accepted expectations/limitations.

[@cindyfalstrom7231]

Huh, here I have spent my whole life thinking this was a sweet fairy tale song about growing up and leaving childish things behind. It always makes me cry for poor Puff. This song puts puts my mind to my favorite children's book - "The Giving Tree", by Shel Silverstein, which also always brings me to tears. Well, thank you Harry for your analysis, it give me a new perspective.

[@wnsafford1854]

Peter Yarrow (who wrote "Puff") & Leonard Lipton (who wrote an Ogden Nash inspired poem, that Peter was in turn inspired by) have always & firmly said this song has nothing to do with drugs. It's simply a song about growing older, the loss of innocence, childhood's end, etc.

[@purplemaniac1532]

Same like WN SAFFORD above :-)) No need to roll a joint to it.. :-))

[@marywise7661]

there is a cartoon called puff the magic dragon .this song was about a childs imagination and nothin else

[@skasgarden]

Hello HarriBest! I enjoyed your reactions to hearing a song I first heard as a teenager, when we kept hearing about openness in California[CA] (all the way to my home 3,000 miles away in Virginia-VA). Lots of exciting events & customs from way out there in CA, took years to finally appear in VA. Me & friends, mostly accepted this song at face value, & there were hints here & there, that as we became enlightened, we noticed that the song might have hidden meanings! Happy Trails Harri~Thank you for giving this song different references, as you discreetly said.

[@perryallan3524]

Peter Yarrow, the composer of this song has specifically said that this song was written in I believe 1958 or 1959, which is long before marijuana was even known about. This song predates marijuana by about 10 years of use in the drug culture of the late 1960's. I'm old enough to know. I clearly remember the introduction of marijuana to teenagers and hippies (and I have a sister who was part of the hippie culture). Its just a children's story about he loss of innocence and friendships. It was based off of a poem by Leonard Lipton, and Peter Yarrow shared his musical writer's credits with Leonard Lipton, which made a fair amount of money for Leonard Lipton.

[@mrb4749]

Very successful folk group probably mid 60s to 70. Blowing in the Wind is very good tho Leaving on a Jet Plane in 69 was probably their biggest hit.

[@747jumbojet]

Nonsense..lol. It's about the loss of childhood innocence...quite sad, but we've all been throught it....Classic song!! Great reaction...

[@urbangardener66]

I agree a 110% with everything everybody else says about the song...it's a song about growing up, loss of innocence...I want to know why Harri is so afraid of truly saying what he really things the song is about. Lol

[@tedcheeseman2914]

It is not about drugs like you think

[@massimosaffioti8798]

Hi Harri! If you want to try a different flavor of Peter, Paul and Mary -- Perhaps you might also enjoy Leavin' on a Jet Plane? Cheers!

[@AliasMark69]

HIGH Harri..... Mornings With Harri while puffing my magic pipe is a regular things these days. Have Another Splendid Successful Day

[@Aurora-cv5to]

The inspiration for the song was a poem written in 1958 by Larry Lipton, then re-written into a song released in 1962. While people were smoking then, it was hardly common. It does seem to be innocent. To me, it's in the tradition of the novelty songs like Purple People Eater (1958) and Lion Sleeps Tonight (1961 in the version by The Tokens that we're all familiar with). I was 11 when it hit the charts, and I was obsessed with it. 10 years later I remember it being the biggest joke ever, because we thought weed but the adults didn't catch on. The actual backstory supports that it was a children's song. And Peter Yarrow, who wrote the song lyrics from the poem, did manage to track down Larry Lipton and give him credit.

[@edwardmason930]

Grew up with this song and never considered it was anything more than a fantasy tale for youngsters.

[@5stardave]

The song was based on a poem by Leonard Lipton.

[@Tonidolls]

Harri that song came out when I was in 2d grade..It played all the time and I just always just it was a about a dragon..i'm 71 now.

[@miamidolphinsfan]

even though they denied it, everyone thinks this is a metaphor for smoking weed

[@AliasMark69]

Hey Harri.... Seriously, The Master story teller Bob Dylan...."It's Aright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding". You and your subscribers will really like this incredible song.

[@ryans1623]

It reminds me off the conversation on meet the parents between ben stiller and robert deniro, lol.

[@angharaddenby3389]

This song has absolutely NOTHING to do with drugs. Peter Yarrow, the song's writer, has explained many times over the years that it is about a child's loss of innocence when growing up. Nothing more. The group was more wholesome than your average clergyman/vicar. And even more so than the Osmonds!!! The fact that YOU think it is about drugs says a lot about YOUR mind. Why can you not just enjoy the song without looking for 'hidden meanings' that are simply NOT there?

[@malcolmhewison9744]

Yes they have great harmonies you need to try some of their other songs, Day is Done

[@lavonnacasey5724]

I raised my children on this and other P.P. & M’s. Also, Bob Dylan and Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, Howling Wolf , etc. and of course opera✌️

[@gosccc]

This always makes me cry

[@chriscarpenter1420]

You should review The Unicorn Song from Peter Paul and Mary's Reunion album. My Mama used to sing me that song as a child. I'm now middle aged with Grandchilden of my own and my Mama still sings me that song.