Puff Breathes Again
(photo: peterpaulandmary.com)
This Sunday afternoon, Peter Yarrow of the legendary folk group Peter, Paul & Mary and co-writer (with Leonard Lipton) of perennial kids’ favorite and unintended hippie anthem Puff, the Magic Dragon, will mount a stool at a DC Barnes & Noble and sing his sweet song for perusing bibliophiles, overheated tourists and a gaggle of family oglers.
The stop is part of a whirlwind B&N tour to promote the latest packaging of Puff’s gigantic tale: a vibrant-colored picture book with accompanying music CD that features Puff and other songs performed by Yarrow, his daughter Bethany, and cellist Rufus Cappadocia.
Just in case there was still any life left to the deflated urban myth that Puff, the Magic Drag-on is an exhortation of the marijuana lifestyle and not just the saddest story of innocence lost ever told, the imprimatur of Barnes & Noble, in all its mainstream-American vanilla-flavored sterility (editor: member since 2006) should deliver the final coffin nail.
R.I.P. Stoner Puff. See you Sunday, PY. I’ll be the goofy-grinned ogler in the third row bouncing a toddler on my knee.
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Lyrics to Puff, the Magic Dragon
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee
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 Honah Lee
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee
Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail
Jackie kept a lookout perched on Puff’s gigantic tail,
Noble kings and princes would bow whene’er they came,
Pirate ships would lower their flags when Puff roared out his name. Oh
[Chorus]
A dragon lives forever but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys.
One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.
His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain,
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane.
Without his life-long friend, Puff could not be brave,
So Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave. Oh
[Chorus]
Sphere: Related Contentguitarblog @ August 8, 2007