After we took our first baby boy back home from the hospital, it quickly became clear that we needed to find a lullaby to soothe his baby cries and lull him to sleep.
The popular lullabies we knew, like Rock a Bye Baby, seemed too short for the task, and we didn’t want to keep singing the same stanzas over and over again. So, we had to find a calming and comforting song long enough (or can be dragged long enough) to pacify and settle our little boy back to sleep.
Looking around online, we found this one that has worked magic for us, and it was also fitting as Joshua was born in the year of the Dragon – “Puff the Magic Dragon”. This song was first recorded by the music group Peter, Paul and Mary in 1962. Despite being over 55 years old now, it has a calming and relaxing tune and its story about a little boy growing up works as a kind of ballad.
Our boys have loved this song as their lullaby. When they were younger and could not speak yet, we would always rock them back to sleep singing “Puff the Magic Dragon” or after they have cried, been distressed, or have had nightmares.
I remember having one of the boys strapped to me in a BabyBjorn on a long haul night flight, and I was at the back of the plane pacing, swaying and singing “Puff the Magic Dragon” and watching his heavy eyelids close until he had dozed off.
Now the boys, 3 and 5 years old, would still occasionally wake up distressed by bad dreams. In their semi-conscious sleeping state, they would still plead:
“Mommy, can you sing “Puff the Magic Dragon”?”.
As a mommy, one of the sweetest moments while singing “Puff the Magic Dragon”, is seeing their distressed crying faces soften and hearing their labored breathing shift to an even one allowing them to fall back to a deep sleep.
We only sing this one lullaby, and after all these year, we now fully appreciate how important this lullaby has been in their growing up process, and that hearing this song has become a natural comfort to them.
Puff the Magic Dragon
Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honali
Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff
And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff
Oh, Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honali
Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honali
Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail
Jackie kept a lookout perched on Puff’s gigantic tail
Noble kings and princes would bow whene’er they came
Pirate ships would lower their flags when Puff roared out his name
Oh, Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honali
Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honali
A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant’s rings make way for other toys
One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff, that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar
His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane
Without his lifelong friend, Puff could not be brave
So Puff, that mighty dragon, sadly slipped into his cave
Oh, Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honali
Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honali
Written by song written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow; Recorded and sung by the musical group Peter, Paul and Mary.
You Silly Mommy! 