Puff, the Magic Dragon
Puff, the Magic Dragon ( Puff, the Magic Dragon ) is a by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow written folk song , which in the version of Peter, Paul & Mary was known from the year 1963rd Its popularity even gave the song its entrance into American and British pop culture .
Emergence
The basis for the lyrics was a poem that Cornell University student Leonard Lipton wrote in 1959 at the age of 19. This was inspired by Ogden Nash's poem Custard the Dragon , in which a " Really-O, Truly-O, little pet dragon " (about: real, true little lap dragon ) was mentioned. Lipton gave his finished work to his friend Peter Yarrow, also a Cornell student, who added more lines of text and a melody and thus prepared the poem into a song.
In 1961, Yarrow joined forces with Noel "Paul" Stookey and Mary Travers to form the folk band Peter, Paul & Mary . The group initially only played the song in their live performances before finally recording it on vinyl in 1962.
content
Puff, the Magic Dragon is the story between the eternally young dragon Puff and his playmate Jackie Paper, a little boy who grows up and loses interest in the imaginary adventures of his childhood and leaves Puff lonely.
When it was rumored that the song was about smoking marijuana (a rumor like this also appears in the movie My Bride, Her Dad, and I ), it became a hippie anthem. The songwriters have repeatedly denied any relation to drugs. When performing, they often protested their innocence by comparing Puff, the Magic Dragon with other songs like The Star-Spangled Banner , which could also be interpreted as a drug song if the audience had the intention to do so.
Television series
Starting in 1978, a short series - which was also broadcast in Germany - was produced of three 30-minute animated television specials based on the song. The main role was originally voiced by Burgess Meredith (the "penguin" in the old Batman television series). The episodes were titled: Puff the Magic Dragon ( Paff, der Zauberdrache ), Puff The Magic Dragon and the Land of the Living Lies ( In the land of living lies ) and Puff and the Incredible Mr. Nobody ( Puff and the miraculous Mr. Nobody ).
International versions
Marlene Dietrich sang the first German version (1963, text: Fred Oldbod) of the song: Paff, der Zauberdrache . This was also used in the German version of the television series mentioned above. Not only the English version of the song has been covered several times over the years, but also the German version, for example in 1975 by Daliah Lavi and in 2001 by Rosenstolz .
There is also a Low German version - written and sung by Knut Kiesewetter and Fiede Kay - called Drees, de Wunnerdraken . There is also a Swiss-German version by Hans-Peter Treichler on a children's song record. The song is also included on the nursery rhyme record of the singer Roger Whittaker ( The Magical World of Roger Whittaker , 1975, MFP).
Term in the military
The term Puff the Magic Dragon also refers to the AC-47 and AC-130 transport aircraft that were converted into gunships and used in the Vietnam War . The planes are so named because their Gatling cannons fired red tracer ammunition , creating the impression of breathing fire.
Commercial space travel
The spaceship Dragon , which successfully returned from the ISS on October 28, 2012 from its first commercial replenishment mission , was named after Puff, the Magic Dragon .
Web links
- Puff, the Magic Dragon in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Puff the Magic Dragon in the Land of the Living Lies in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Puff and the Incredible Mr. Nobody in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Knut Kiesewetter: Drees, de Wunnerdraken ( Memento from March 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) in Low German with a High German translation
- Mirjam Schadendorf: Puff the Magic Dragon. In: Song Lexicon . Retrieved January 26, 2014.