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Child Development
Puff the Magic Dragon
Keeping the magic alive.
Posted October 23, 2014 Reviewed by Ekua Hagan
Peter, Paul, and Mary gave us Puff the Magic Dragon, a timeless song about the magic of youth. Unsurprisingly, it was based on a poem by a 19-year-old Cornell student, Leonard Lipton. Whether it's on the radio, at a kid's party, or at some '60s revival, Puff tends to trigger a smile.
It’s a tale of a young boy, Jackie Paper, and his faithful dragon, Puff. We watch their grand deeds and lament their sad parting.
The fortunate among us remember a Jackie Paper period in our lives, with our own private version of Puff. Do you remember an endless moment of play? It was precious. And, what broke you from that spell…homework or your mom calling for dinner?
Magic Need Not End
Yet, as a child and adult psychiatrist, I'm not satisfied with how the song ends and would love a better ending. (Yes, there’s an urban legend that the song was about marijuana, but that seems like a stretch to me.)
We grow and leave childhood, but those memories sit within, waiting to be alchemized into the dreams and journeys of adulthood. In fact, if we leave the magic of imagination to childhood, we are not truly adults, but rather, stunted grownups, and wide open to depression.
Puff and Jackie Paper
Here is the setup.
Jackie Paper enjoys his pal, Puff, and they wander the seas searching for adventure. Jackie may be a little boy but is privileged with an imagination that tells him otherwise. The song pays sweet homage to the grandness of a child’s inner world.
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…
This is the great stuff of childhood.
A little boy or girl ponders, and the grand world sits at the feet of their imagination.
For those lucky enough, childhood presented parents that were near perfect (later, we discover they were far from it), and a backyard or neighborhood filled with the stuff of legend.
Even if home life proved hard, some children (and I've seen many such souls) somehow found magical freedom within their precious minds. A child with a good imagination has a certain kind of power, with a sense of both greatness and safety, even if it's all improvised.
Margaret Mahler taught us about the omnipotent period of childhood, and Freud alluded to the Oedipal period, when a little boy or girl may feel equal, if only for a moment, with any grown-up. But, for those of us who understand the magic of a child’s imagination, Puff the Magic Dragon speaks to our hearts. Some of us had imaginary friends; others just understood the power of play.
And, with a little bit of health, we all dreamed.
Grow Up and Lose
Yet, as the song—and life—goes, Jackie grows up and Puff fades away, replaced by adulthood.
A dragon lives forever but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys
One gray 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 lifelong friend, Puff could not be brave
So Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave…
Without question, this song speaks to the loss of innocence that most of us feel as we age. And, for the 19-year-old author of this poem/song, the loss was tragic and permanent. Poor Puff is now doomed to his cave. And, Jackie, unwittingly, is doomed to proceed in life, seemingly unaware of the magnitude of his loss.
Yet, we know better.
Adult Magic
How many people have a sparkle in their eye, a curiosity that will not be satisfied, and a zest for life’s many curiosities and wonders? It seems that Puff gets reinvented in healthy adults. Play and imagination, even, dare I say—healthy grandiosity—can lead to dreams, and dreams can lead to better and happier lives.
We all know people who have their own Puff, alive and well, accompanying them along life’s journey. These are the truly happy folk of this great world.
A Final Verse
Yes, I think this 19-year-old could not write the next verse. He was mourning the loss of his own childhood. But, if we asked him today, what might he write? How can we adults recapture the whimsical vitality of a great imaginative life?
It is doable and it happens every day.
What would be your final verse? How does Jackie Paper, now an adult, reunite with his old dear friend Puff the Magic Dragon? Get this right, and you will teach us all something precious.
*Puff the Magic Dragon Songwriters
I want to thank David Levin-Kruss for suggesting a rewrite of this wonderful Peter, Paul, and Mary ballad.
