The old song by Peter, Paul, and Mary. What's it about?
They never said. It's been debated for 50 years and no one knows even now. Those who say it's about smoking grass are just guessing but It's as good a guess as any, I guess.
It's about a little boy growing up and leaving behind his imaginary friend (a stuffed toy dragon named Puff).
The lyrics tell a story of the ageless dragon, Puff, and his playmate, Jackie Paper, a little boy who grows up and moves on from the imaginary adventures of childhood, leaving a disheartened Puff on his own. The song's story takes place "by the sea" in the fictional land of "Honah Lee". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puff,_the_Magic_Dragon
Speculation about drug references
After the song's initial success, speculation arose—as early as a 1964 article in Newsweek—that the song contained veiled references to smoking marijuana. The word "paper" in the name of Puff's human friend Jackie Paper was said to be a reference to rolling papers, the words "by the sea" were interpreted as "by the C" (as in cannabis), the word "mist" stood for "smoke", the land of "Honahlee" stood for hashish, and "dragon" was interpreted as "draggin'" (i.e., inhaling smoke). Similarly, the name "Puff" was alleged to be a reference to taking a "puff" on a joint. The supposition was claimed to be common knowledge in a letter by a member of the public to The New York Times in 1984.
The authors of the song have repeatedly rejected this interpretation and have strongly and consistently denied that they intended any references to drug use. Both Lipton and Yarrow have stated, "'Puff, the Magic Dragon' is not about drugs." Yarrow has frequently explained that the song is about the hardships of growing older and has no relationship to drug-taking. He has also said that the song has "never had any meaning other than the obvious one" and is about the "loss of innocence in children." He has dismissed the suggestion of it being associated with drugs as "sloppy research". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puff,_the_Magic_Dragon
"Whose bright idea was it to put every idiot in the world in touch with every other idiot? It's working!" -- P. J. O'Rourke
