Folk Music

October 16, 2018 9:24 am Update

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“But our land is still troubled by men who have to hate
They twist away our freedom & they twist away our fate
Fear is their weapon and treason is their cry
We can stop them if we try.”

~ Phil Ochs, the Power and Glory (omitted verse)

Peter Yarrow – YouTube

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This was Peter Yarrow's introduction of Phil Ochs during the Newport Folk Festival in 1963. The song that Ochs would open with was the Ballad of Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader slain only a few weeks earlier.

“There is something happening in the world of art today. There are people who some think are new idols, new grand personalities. A lot of people resent the fact that these people are saying critical things, penetrating things. But it’s not idolatry, it’s the most positive, most affirmative aspect of our nation today.”

‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ was never about drugs

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Peter Yarrow: ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ was never about drugs

"QUESTION: As a journalist, it can be hard to interview someone with more than 50 years in the entertainment business, because there is nothing really original to ask. So, let me start by asking you what is the one question you are tired of being asked?"

"ANSWER: I am not sure I am tired of being asked about it, but I am tired of how many people start by thinking "Puff the Magic Dragon" is about drugs. It is not, and it never was. That all started with a guy at a magazine that wrote about songs that had hidden drug references or had some subtext message that was about drugs or advocated for drug use. He had "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" on there, which is just absurd. He mentioned "Mr. Tambourine Man," which is about drugs, but it was not hidden, it was a direct reference. His third song he listed was "Puff the Magic Dragon," which is insane and stupid. I asked him once about it and he basically said he was just looking for a third and thought, “maybe this will work.”