Two days later and I'm back on the 'puff the magic dragon' wagon.

But seriously, guys. This is one of the most tragic songs ever written. Consider:

Puff the Magic Dragon, lived by the sea.
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honoli.

Enter stage left: Puff. He is a dragon who lives by the sea. Most obviously. He also gets extra points for frolicking. Think about how difficult it would be for a dragon to walk in a circle, let alone frolic. This merrymaking of his also goes against the grain of a typical dragon. We know now that we are dealing with an outcast and chances are, he's sensitive. Based on such vulnerability that is expressed in the initial characterization of Puff, it seems fair to assume that this will be returned to later. Puff is already a character that is cruisin' for a bruisin'. But Honoli? Let's be safe and assume that this is somewhere near Hoboken.

Little Jackie Paper, loved that rascal Puff.
And brought him strings and ceiling wax, and other fancy
stuff.

Jackie Paper: a simple, noun-oriented, androgynous name. Perfect for a kid's brain. This is one of the main reasons why I love this sad, sad song. Like the way Mr. Rogers slipped into his tennis shoes at the beginning of every episode: children get simplicity. They're hooked on repetition. But I'm jumping ahead to the chorus too soon. Little Jackie Paper is to Puff the way an overexcited puppy wants to lick you all over your face right before he pees on your foot. But he's way generous and seems quite lonely himself. So I like him. Moving on...

*Chorus*
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 when ere they came.
Pirate ships would lower their flag, when Puff roared out
his name.

What do you know, the two cronies are famous. Besides that though, this is the section of the song that is supposed to make you all goo-shee inside. A boy and his dragon, precious type-stuff.

Dragons live forever, but not so little boys.
Painted wings and giants' 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.

This is what I'm talking about, the crux of misery. I'm willing to submit to the statement that dragons live forever. There are still unexplored parts of the globe, aren't there (please)? No, Jackie Paper doesn't die. Something much worse happens. LITTLE Jackie Paper dies. He grows up. He's becomes too old for dragons. As for all that string and sealing wax, Puff could be the greatest carpenter in all of Honoli and big-time, too-old-for-games Jackie Paper wouldn't even give him the time of day. As for the "other toys" that the song mentions, I'm not sure what they are but I'm quite positive that they are everything that is wrong with this planet.

His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain.
Puff no longer went to play along the Cherry Lane.
Without his life-long friend, Puff could not be brave.
So Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his
cave.

About Puff being Jackie's lifelong friend, though: if dragons live forever, and Jackie Paper was a lifelong friend of Puff's, then wouldn't it be coincidentally boggling that the two had been friends since birth? I'm not challenging this piece of the lyrics. I'm just emphasizing how brutally heart wrenching it really is.
Into hiding he goes. FOREVER. Poor, poor Puff. Once worshipped by Jackie through string libations and now tossed aside like a rusted Canadian penny. And all because of that gaytarded phase called puberty.