When Peter Yarrow co-wrote “Puff, the Magic Dragon” in 1958, he did not foresee the song’s message becoming such a permanent fixture in his life’s work.
“Puff is not about a dragon. He’s about the feeling of caring for another creature,” said Yarrow, formerly of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary.
At 73, Yarrow is still applying the song’s message to current events. On Saturday, he appeared before an intimate crowd in Denver to promote one such application: Operation Respect, the anti-bullying organization he founded in 1999.
Speaking in a soft, wispy voice, Yarrow leaned over his guitar toward the audience and looked each of them directly in the eye.
“What is the relationship between Occupy Wall Street, Operation Respect, and ‘Puff, the Magic Dragon?’ ” Yarrow asked. “They all relate to the heart.”
He opened the presentation with Peter, Paul and Mary’s 1962 cover version of “If I Had a Hammer,” urging the audience to all sing along.
“Many of you who are younger are not used to singing out loud with others,” Yarrow said. “Music binds our hearts together, and at that moment, we are united.”
Yarrow still believes in many of the tenets that he advocated during his days as a civil rights peace activist.
“I’ve realized some things about how things change because I’ve been a part of it,” he said. “The tactics have to change because the mediums of information have changed.”
Yarrow calls his methods the “jujitsu” tactic of change.
“We honed in on bullying because I could stand up in front of Republicans and Democrats and they could all get behind me,” Yarrow said. “If I said ‘peace,’ I’d get marginal support.”
Operation Respect’s curriculum centers on the song “Don’t Laugh at Me.”
“Its intention is, in a classroom, to create the kind of community we already have through music,” he said.
The goal is to change the educational paradigm as a means to catalyze cultural change.
“The kids have not yet learned to push ‘The Other’ away,” Yarrow said. “When you use music in conjunction with curriculum, it opens their hearts to one another.”
Yarrow believes that the intellectual and emotional priorities for building a positive environment have been placed in the wrong order.
“The intellectual concept of love and respect springs from the heart’s feelings of acceptance,” he said.
Yarrow spent some time Friday afternoon singing songs with Occupy Denver participants. He said people who complain that the protesters lack a firm message are missing the point.
“What they want is a change in heart,” he said.
“Puff is about the sadness of the passing of that innocence,” Yarrow said. “Puff is the message of Occupy Wall Street.”
Kristen Leigh Painter: 303-954-1638 or kpainter@denverpost.com
