Back in 1963, at the ripe young age of 10, I was finding a liking of certain music and musical groups to put in my mental cache and focus on while listening to our local radio stations, or while watching American Bandstand on Saturdays. One of the groups that I took a liking to was the folk group comprised of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers, better known simply as Peter, Paul, and Mary.

Being a child of the 50s and 60’s, and having older siblings, I heard many genres of music at that time, from the music from my parents’ generation to the Rock-n-Roll artists of the mid 50s, to the beginning of the Fab Four and the British Invasion of the early to mid 60s, to the psychedelic sounds of the late 60s, and early 70s. I lived through a lot of music performed protesting war, and professing peace, heavy metal music, Motown, hard rock, and bands/combos including Simon and Garfunkel, the Association, C, S, N, & Y, Journey, the Eagles, and individual performers, Aretha Franklin, John Denver, Lionel Richie, up to, of course, Jimmy Buffett.

In the midst of all the genres, the performers, and the somewhat chaotic sounds and lyrics of the music in my days, came a soft, soothing, song that might have been comparable to a story involving Christopher Robbins and Winnie the Pooh. The song was performed by Peter, Paul, and Mary, and its title was Puff the Magic Dragon.

At that time back then, there was a Saturday cartoon show with the characters Beany, a young boy who wore a propellered beanie, and his friend, a seasick sea serpent by the name of Cecil. A while after the release of Puff, a cartoon show of that song story did appear on television, but the characters, Jackie Paper and Puff, were very much the same as the characters, Beany and Cecil.

There was something very calm about the song, Puff the Magic Dragon. It was a gentle song, an innocent song, but turned out to be kind of a sad song at the end. Nonetheless, it was a song you loved singing along with whenever you heard it on the radio or on television.

There was a short period when rumors flew about Puff being full of drug connections and some of the lyrics being coded words for drug paraphernalia. Things like strings and ceiling wax were supposedly code words for drug implements. Fortunately, P, P, & M came out and dispelled that theory, and those of us who enjoy listening to that song were able to once again the purity of its serenity.

It is still a huge favorite of mine, and I try very hard to harmonize with Peter and Mary (Sorry, Paul Stookey! Hey, just traded a Paul for a Paul) whenever I sing along with the song on the radio, or I happen to catch a PBS Fundraiser featuring a concert by Peter, Paul, and Mary. I love to sing in the solitude of my vehicle, and/or in the privacy of my home, where, in both cases, the only one who can hear me is Sally, and she’s too nice to tell me I’m a lousy singer.

Another reason I enjoy that song so much is that when Jon was born, and I tried helping Sally when we brought him home, and as he grew the first 12 months, my way of getting him to fall asleep was to sing to him. My song of choice, Puff the Magic Dragon. It usually worked and I felt a special bond was taking place. (I would rather think that than probably have to admit that he probably fell sleep fast because I wasn’t a very good singer, and he figured I’d stop when he nodded off.) But the song remains special to me and the memories it conjures up whenever I hear it, are priceless to me.

Though Mary Travers passed away in 2009, both Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey (also known as Noel Paul Stookey), continue to tour the country, mostly separately, under their individual names. Obviously, Mary is missed, but their music lives on, and if we share their songs, and other music we enjoyed, with our children and grandchildren before our time runs out, much of that music may also share a little bit more of our personalities, and tell a little bit more of our story, with the generations that will keep our family going, and also maybe keep our legacies alive too.