歌 曲 背 後
"Puff, The Magic Dragon", 一首童謠民歌卻令一些人想起失去親人的悲痛, 與好友離别的哀愁, 雖然經時間的洗滌, 但所有感受仍然縈繞在心裡, 之外有些更深層次的事物在觸動著不同年齡的人, 讓他們無法立即理解歌曲對年輕樂迷是充滿奇迹和冒險的歴程, 成年人的感覺是一首失去純真和寧靜的輓歌。
許多樂迷在後來亦知悉歌詞是隱藏着不少含意, 特別在反主流文化的年代, "Puff" 是隱喻毒品, 或走進煙霧裡為逃被現實的意思, 亦是香港人對吸毒的俗稱《追龍》; 之外, 這一曲亦引致不同的爭議和事件相繼出現....
1964年, 美國空軍 USAF 將五十三架 Douglas 道格拉斯 AC-47 客機改裝成戰機, 在越戰以強大的火力向越共發射照明彈, 加上重型機槍掃射, 令越共逃命之餘, 更高呼 "Dragon 巨龍" 來襲, 令美軍亦稱這型號的戰機為 "Puff The Magic Dragon", 一首童謠民歌的名字, 卻成為殺戮戰場上一款戰機的別號。
Cannabis 大麻
同年, 美國 "Newsweek 新聞周刊" 在一篇文章講及這首歌曲是暗含 "Cannabis 大麻"; 亦特别指出歌詞中的虛擬地方 "Honah Lee", 是取自有相近發音, 在 Hawaii 夏威夷 Kauai 縣, 一個名為 Hanalei 的小鄉村, 人們以種植藥用大麻為生, 據傳其海灘邊的懸崖, 從遠看像似潛伏的巨龍。之外, 在文章還特別加上一些闡釋:
"Jackie Paper" 小孩的名字 "paper" 是 "捲菸紙"
"by the sea" 解讀 "by the C" 暗稱大麻 "Cannabis"
"mist" 解讀 "smoke"
"dragon" 解讀 "draggin' 吸入煙霧"
這些闡釋全被 Peter Yarrow 加以否認和反駁, 指任何歌曲, 甚至 "The Star-Spangled Banner 星條旗" 都可以被解讀為 "毒品歌曲"。及後, 有讀者去信 "The New York Times 紐約時報", 聲稱這歌曲的含意早已眾所周知, 並不足為奇, 可能衹是 "Newsweek 新聞周刊" 的編輯後知後覺而已!
當年的 "Hippies 嬉皮士" 與及一些 "時尚" 公眾人物, 一聲 "have a puff 整番口" 或 "have a joint 整番枝" 各人都心領神會, 在他們的生活圈子, "Puff" 是 "圍爐" 的意思, 這是源於 "享用" 大蔴之時, 深深的 "吞雲" 至慢慢 "吐霧" 的短暫時間内, 紙卷裡的 "珍品" 仍在燃燒, 為免浪費, 還是與同道 "圍爐", 在 "吐霧" 之前把 "珍品" 互傳, 一同享受好了。後來改以方便攜帶, 僅可一兩個 "puff" 的小煙斗, 讓個人可以獨自享受吧!
禁 播"Puff, The Magic Dragon" 以童謠民歌在各國樂壇面世之後, 成為民歌迷的摯愛, 在當年的 Singapore 新加坡和 Hong Kong 香港的電臺播出不久, 馬上被認為歌詞是含有毒品相關的內容, 因此成為两地的電臺禁播歌曲, 不過, 在香港愛好民歌的青少年, 衹要從唱片和翻開 "Hit Parade" 仍可以自學彈唱一番!
戲 仿 - "Puff, the Kosher Dragon"
七十年代中期, 在美國名為 Ruach 的猶太樂隊, 創作了這首歌曲的戲仿版本, 名為 "Puff, the Kosher Dragon"; 歌曲當中的 Kosher Puff, 住在 Palestine 巴勒斯坦, 對反猶太主義分子作鬥爭, 吃猶太食品, 接受成人禮, 婚後將孩子教養成猶太信徒。這一曲面世, 被認為 Rauch 是創造了現代猶太樂隊, 演繹世俗流行歌曲的先河。
PUFF, THE KOSHER DRAGON
CHORUS
Puff, the Kosher Dragon, lived in Palestine
And frolicked in the synagogue
And drank Shapiro's wine
Little Rabbi Goldberg, loved that Kosher Puff
And fed him lox and matzah balls
And other Kosher stuff
Now Puff became Bar Mitzvah (成人禮), put on Tefillin every day
Wrapped up in his Tallis, oh that's the way he prayed
Made Brochos before eating, and he bentched after every meal
Imagine how religious it made that dragon feel
Oh, .... CHORUS
Now, there were some people, who did things just for spite
They'd curse Jews and attack them, just to get into a fight
When Puff the dragon heard this, He roared a mighty roar
Now, those wicked people aren't with us any more
Oh, .... CHORUS
Now, Puff, the Kosher Dragon, found himself a bride
Now, little Kosher dragons are his source of joy and pride
They'll grow up doing Mitzvos, learning Torah and davening, too
And Rabbi Goldberg teaching them, what Kosher dragons do
Oh, .... CHORUS
Now, you who may be listening, may think we're making fun
But deep down in this story, there's a moral for everyone
If a dragon can wear a Kippa, keep Shabbos and Kosher, too
Then you can learn, like Puff did, how to be real good Jews
Oh, .... CHORUS
政 治 - "Barack, the Magic Negro"
David Ehrenstein (1947-2025) 傑出的美國影評人、作家及記者, 專於電影有關 "LGBT" 的議題, 與及現代電影藝術有廣泛研究; 在2007年三月他的一篇文章, 用上美國的電影、電視與文學當中一個有神秘力量的虛構人物 "Magical Negro", 來形容當時 Illinos 伊利諾伊州的參議員, 亦是民主黨的總統候選人 Barack Obama ....
2008年十一月, 美國第四十四任總統大選由 Barack Obama 勝出; 保守派的諧趣表演藝人 Paul Shanklin 馬上取用了 "Puff, the Magic Dragon" 的曲調, 另撰上歌詞並取名 "Barack the Magic Negro", 將親自演繹的錄音聲帶交給政治評論人 Rush Limbaugh, 在他主持的電臺節目播出之後, 引起政界和樂壇哄動。同年十二月中, Tennessee 田納西州的政治人物 Chip Saltzman 把這首被評為具爭議性的惡搞歌曲, 錄製成 CD 光碟, 並送給 "Nuclear Regulatory Commission 核能管制委員會" 各成員作聖誕禮物, 引起政壇一番輿論。
Peter Yarrow 在 "Los Angeles Times 洛杉磯時報" 的專欄作出譴責: ｢此舉確令人反感、震驚和悲傷; 取用童謠歌曲並以如此粗俗和惡毒的方式來扭曲其意涵, 等同侮辱我們整個國家與及共同拋棄種族主義的共識。我無法相信 Chip Saltzman 能夠被考慮成為 "Republic National Committee 共和黨全國委員會" 主席的候選人!｣。
最終, 在輿論的壓力下, Chip Saltzman 迫於要退出這次競選。
Barack the Magic Negro - Paul Shanklin 2007
Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
'Cause he's not authentic like me.
Yeah, the guy from the L.A. paper
Said he makes guilty whites feel good
They'll vote for him, and not for me
'Cause he's not from the hood.
See, real black men, like Snoop Dog,
Or me, or Farrakhan
Have talked the talk, and walked the walk,
Not come in late and won!
Oh, Barack the Magic Negro, lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
'Cause he’s black, but not authentically.
Oh, Barack the Magic Negro, lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
'Cause he's black, but not authentically.
Some say Barack's "articulate"
And bright and new and "clean."
The media sure loves this guy,
A white interloper's dream!
But when you vote for president,
Watch out, and don't be fooled!
Don’t vote the Magic Negro in -
'Cause —
'Cause I won't have nothing after all these years of sacrifice, and I won't get justice.
This is about justice. This isn't about me, it's about justice.
It's about buffet. I don't have no buffet and there won't be any church contributions,
and there'll be no cash in the collection plate.
There ain't gonna be no cash money, no walkin' around money, no phoning money.
Now, Barack going to come in here and —