第1450期：一首传奇儿歌背后的传奇公案 – Puff, the magic dragon
我猜你应该听过Puff the magic dragon这首歌吧。如果没有，你可以先点开音频，对照下面的歌词听一遍，然后再读今天的文章。
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee
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 Honalee
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee
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 Honalee
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee
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 Honalee
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee
*Songwriters: Leonard Lipton, Peter Yarrow.
这首歌发表于1963年，由当时的一个三人组合乐队（Peter, Paul, and Marry）首唱。词作者是Leonard Lipton和Peter Yarrow. 两人是康奈尔大学的同宿舍室友。
据Lipton说，歌词的主体是他1958年写的一首诗，而他那首诗的灵感来自Ogden Nash 1936年的一首诗”A Tale of custard the dragon”.
这首儿歌讲了一个很简单的故事：一只名叫 Puff 的龙和它的好朋友 Jackie Paper. 随着Jackie慢慢长大，他不再喜欢Puff了，两人的友谊最终结束，各自孤独。
是不是很熟悉的情节？这其实是很多文学和艺术作品的永恒主题之一：loss of innocence，指人在成长过程中慢慢告别童年，进入成人的世界，从而失去了儿时的天真和快乐。
这首歌很快就火遍了全美，但很快也受到了批评。《新闻周刊》杂志上有人撰文说这首歌是教唆青少年吸毒的歌。理由如下：
Puff在俚语中有吸烟时喷烟的意思，就是烟吸进去再冒出来的那个动作。
Dragon暗指俚语draggin，就是把烟吸进去那个动作。
Jackie Paper的名字更露骨了，听听这小孩姓什么，Paper，手工卷烟的那个纸。
作者认为这首歌把吸毒隐喻为秋天里的一条龙，隐秘地描写了吸毒过程的体感。
这个说法很有市场，人们越琢磨越觉得有道理，直到今天，这个解读仍未消除，因为好像越来越解释不清楚了。
据说这首歌后来在香港就曾被禁播过，理由就是有上面说的这种嫌疑。香港本土俚语中有“追龙”（指吸食海洛因）一词，不知是否真有文化方面的渊源。
后来，还有人发现歌词第二句也有问题，a land called Honah Lee，这是什么地方？很多人说是夏威夷城市Hanalei，这地方别的东西没有，巧了，出产全世界最佳品质的marijuana（大麻）。
一件美国音乐史上的公案，至今也没定论。
我大一时才听到这首歌，觉得很好听。也许那一年也是我正式告别少年开始青春的转折点吧，每个人都有那么一个时刻，像Jackie Paper一样，永久地失去了我们的Puff, the magic dragon.
但我们失去的innocence只是曾经的那个少年，在《失乐园》里，人类的始祖从那个苹果开始，失去的是人类再也找不回的天真和永恒。
