Listen to the Real Story Behind 'Puff the Magic Dragon'
BY Michele Debczak
April 26, 2016
A song about the adventures of a magical dragon sounds innocent enough, but like many songs written in the '60s, "Puff the Magic Dragon" is regarded by many as a metaphor for drug use. Perhaps this video from Great Big Story will finally put those rumors to bed.
According to the song's lyricist Lenny Lipton, the idea was inspired by Ogden Nash's children's poem "The Tale of Custard the Dragon." The same day he read the poem, Lipton went over to a friend's house and felt compelled to sit down in front of their typewriter and start writing. The poem he wrote would eventually be used as the lyrics for Peter, Paul and Mary's hit song.
Both Leonard Lipton and lead singer Peter Yarrow have stated "Puff the Magic Dragon is not about drugs." ... 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", and dismissed the suggestion of association with drugs as "sloppy research".