Raffi Clarifies 'Baby Beluga' Drama: Hit Song Not About Dead Whale

Raffi, the beloved children's songwriter, wants to clear the air: he is very sad that Kavna the beluga whale has died, as he enjoyed a close relationship with the captive animal, but her death does not signify the loss of the subject of his 1979 hit song "Baby Beluga."

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That song, he promises, was written about an imaginary whale.

The confusion began when the Vancouver Aquarium reported that Kavna was dead at 46, likely of cancer. Raffi responded on Twitter with his sad memories, writing, "just heard the news, sad she's gone. loved meeting her in '79 ~ gave me a kiss, inspired a song now known to millions!"

But the meaning of his tweet, and his subsequent teary others, became misconstrued by major news outlets, including the Vancouver Sun, BuzzFeed and Huffington Post. Their stories made the easy mistake of assuming Raffi meant that the song was written about Kavna; instead, she simply inspired a song about an imaginary whale.

He tweeted as much shortly after his initial tweet, writing, "the song wasn't about her, yet she did inspire it. i'm very grateful," but as it was a response to a fan, many did not see.

And so it goes, three days on since Kavna died, and Raffi continues to seek clarification, personally tweeting some of the journalists that wrote the incorrect stories. Late Wednesday, he wrote, "upsetting 2 see articles & tweeps re death of babybeluga. the song is about an imaginary little whale. ‪#belugagrads‬ pls RT."