Puff (the Magic Dragon)" by Peter, Paul, Essay

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Puff (the Magic Dragon)" by Peter, Paul, and Mary

During the 1960s, one of the revolutionary developments that changed the landscape of American culture and history was the establishment of the Hippie Movement. The Hippies, as the people of this movement were called, popularized the "apolitical counterculture," wherein the Hippies did not subsist to "materialism, convention (of the society), and authority." Instead, they resorted to their newfound ideal of a "communal" form of society and a culture driven and motivated by rock music, sex, and drugs (Microsoft Encarta 2002).

With drugs and rock music being the main motivators that shaped American culture during the 1960s, many music bands had emerged, which glorifies the new principle behind the Hippie Movement. Besides rock music, traditional folk music came into being once again, only this time, a mixture of rock influence was infused with traditional folk music. One of these bands who have been active proponents of the Hippie Movement was the Peter, Paul, and Mary band. Composed of members Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers, the Peter, Paul, and Mary band received acclaim and popularity because of the liberal ideas they incorporate in their songs. One of these songs is the famous children's rhyme song entitled, "Puff (the Magic Dragon)." This song, originally composed as a poem by Leonard Lipton in 1959, describes the "loss of innocence" of children once they leave their childhood and embark into the real world where imperfections in life are abound (Mikkelson 2001).

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However, despite the personal and indirect social relevance of the song, the band was accused of using the song to extend to their audience a double-meaning song, which connotes the song content as a narration of the experience of drug addiction. Taken into the social and political context of American culture during the 1960s, "Puff" can be interpreted in two ways: one being the personal interpretation of Yarrow and Lipton of the song, and the other being the social relevance of the song with that of social deviation through drug addiction.

A content analysis of the song will reveal that, indeed, "Puff" can generate a dual-meaning, wherein the themes of lost childhood innocence (as decreed by Yarwood and Lipton) and drug addiction can be conveyed. The Chorus of "Puff" illustrates the joyous and wonderful experience that the singer feels for his childhood or feeling under the influence of drugs. If the personal interpretation of the song using the childhood theme is considered, "Puff" shows how the magi dragon serves as the element that personifies myth against that of reality. However, drug addiction can also be construed within the song's content, especially if one will decipher the connotative meaning of the word "puff" and phrase "autumn mist….....

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