Puff, the Magic Dragon 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 Leonard Lipton and lead singer Peter 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
Puff, the Magic Dragon at Cornell. He used Yarrow's typewriter to get the poem out of his head. He then forgot about it until years later, when a friend called and told him Yarrow was looking for him, to give him credit for the lyrics. On making contact Yarrow gave Lipton half the songwriting credit, and he still gets royalties from the song. In an effort to be gender-neutral, Yarrow now sings the line "A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys" as "A dragon lives forever, but not so girls and boys." The original poem also had a stanza that was not