Who was Jackie Paper’s imaginary friend?

"Puff, the Magic Dragon" is a song written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow and made popular by Yarrow's group Peter, Paul and Mary in a 1962 recording released in January 1963. "Puff the Magic Dragon" entered the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts on March 30, 1963, and peaked at No. 2, kept out of the No. 1 spot by “I Will Follow Him” by Little Peggy March.

The lyrics tell a story of the ageless dragon Puff and his playmate, Jackie Paper, a little boy who grows up and loses interest in the imaginary adventures of childhood and leaves Puff to be sad and alone. (The line "A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys" is generally thought to imply only that "little Jackie Paper" grew up.) The story of the song takes place "by the sea" in the fictional land of "Honahlee".

Both Leonard Lipton and lead singer Peter Yarrow have stated that "Puff the Magic Dragon" is not an allegory about drugs (marijuana), as many have speculated. Yarrow insists that the song is about children growing older and has no relationship to drug-taking. 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".

“Little Jackie Paper

Loved that rascal Puff

And brought him strings and sealing wax

And other fancy stuff

Oh, Puff, the magic dragon

Lived by the sea

And frolicked in the autumn mist

In a land called Honahlee.”

More Info: genius.com

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56 Comments

skipsmart

Anyone who listened to Peter,Paul and Mary knew the answer!

Maho girl

jojodamico, I am 67 years old, & still tear up over this sad song . . . Jackie paper came no more . . . :-( :-(

jojodamico

A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys....Saddest song ever 😥

Deedle

Love that song 🎵. But i was not familiar with the background of the song. To me as a kid growing up it was a fun happy song. Sticks in your head that's for sure.

RUBY'S mom

I love that song and always sang it as a lullaby to my infant daughter....then one day, many years later, I heard her singing it to her infant.

Armadillo

carens, I've never heard it bi this one sounds especially 😢

madoqua

When I was a child I assumed this song was about childhood's end and all the good, the bad, and the ugly that that entails.

Cujo

It was about smoking pot according to Peter and Paul.

Jennifer Cain

I watched this cartoon as a child!

carens

A child’s innocence only lasts for a while and then they unfortunately become cynical. This song alluded to the loss of innocence of a young boy and was saddening. 😭

bmcamilot

That was one of the best songs about a child's innocents and how they lose it as they grow up, but poor Puff goes on forever in the land of Honalee. Still will bring tears to the eyes if you are a parent of children.... The song will go on forever too!!!!

wattsican

I loved that song as a kid and actually still do, brings back fond memories..!!

heyjude

I too loved that song. In fact about 10 years ago when Mary passed I named my new rescue cat Puff. That's a special name to me.

Arthur Wesselman

Laura Herendeen, Nah, it's just about a little boy growing up and all the bittersweet feelings that accompany it. I, too, cry when I hear this song, because I remember parting with all thise toys that meant so much to me at one time.