Jelly roll is a sexual slang term used to indicate variously a lover, intercourse, or the sexual parts. According to the book The Story of English, "On the street, jelly roll had many associated meanings, from the respectable 'lover, or spouse', to the Harlem slang of the 1930s, 'a term for the vagina'." [1] In blues usage, however, the cylindrical pastry was at least as easily used as a metaphor for the phallus. It is rare for a euphemism for sexual parts to be applied equally to the male and female. Sexual slang is any slang term which makes reference to sex, the sexual organs, or matters closely related to them. ... For other uses, see Harlem (disambiguation). ... The blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that typically follows a twelve-bar structure. ... This article is about the symbol of the erect penis. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The book Blues Fell This Morning: Meaning in the Blues cites a recording by Peg Leg Howell and His Gang as an example of sexual metaphor in the blues:

Jelly-roll, jelly-roll, ain't so hard to find.

Ain't a baker shop in town bake 'em brown like mine

I got a sweet jelly, a lovin' sweet jelly roll,

If you taste my jelly, it'll satisfy your worried soul [2]

Another example is the Josh White version of "Jelly, Jelly" (1958, LP album Josh At Midnight). The cut starts with Josh gargling. This picks up at about the fourth or fifth verse . . .

I'm gonna take you baby (chuckle), stretch you 'cross my big brass bed.

{Hey lordy mama! Great God Almighty!)

I'm gonna take you baby, stretch you 'cross my big brass bed.

I'm'a rub your head, baby, 'til your toes, your toes turn cherry red!

I've got nineteen women, livin' in Al's neighborhood

(His wife don' know it! Great God Almighty!)

I've got nineteen women, livin' in Al's neighborhood

Eighteen of them are fools, the other gal ain't no God damned good!

But she makes me holler . . ohh baby ,ooh baby, oo

But she makes me holler . . owe! baby, ooh baby, oo

I love ya baby, what more can a poor man do?

You've got bad blood baby, I believe you need a shot!

(long lascivious chuckle)

You've got bad blood baby, I believe you need a shot!

On your back now baby: Let the doctor see what else you've got!:

The expression appears in numerous blues and jazz songs, such as "I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None of This Jelly Roll" by Clarence Williams (also known as "Jelly Roll Blues", which was recorded by Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, and many other singers in the 1920s); Billy Eckstine's "Jelly, Jelly" from the 1940s; and "Jelly Roll" by Nina Simone in the 1970s ("I could go for a ride on your sweet jelly roll/ But I wouldn't give nothing for my juicy, juicy soul"). The phrase is best remembered from the nickname of early jazz bandleader Jelly Roll Morton. Jazz is a style of music which originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States at around the start of the 20th century. ... Clarence Williams ( November 8, 1893 - November 6, 1965) was a Jazz pianist, composer, promoter, vocalist, and publisher. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Ida Cox (25 February 1896 - 10 November 1967) was a popular African American singer, best known for her Blues performances and recordings. ... The 1920s is a decade sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... Billy Eckstine (8 July 1914 – 8 March 1993), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as William Clarence Eckstein. ... The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949. ... Eunice Kathleen Waymon, better known as Nina Simone (February 21, 1933–April 21, 2003), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Morton in the 1920s Ferdinand Jelly Roll Morton (probably September 20, 1885 - July 10, 1941) was an American virtuoso pianist, bandleader and composer who some call the first true composer of jazz music. ...

I ain't gonna give nobody none of my jelly roll

I wouldn't give you a piece of my cake to save your soul

My jelly roll is sweet and it can't be beat

I know you want it, you can't have it, ain't gonna give you none

Billy Eckstein's more modern "Jelly Jelly" takes a tragic view:

Jelly jelly jelly

Jelly stays on my mind

Jelly roll killed my pappy,

And run my mama stone blind.

Van Morrison included the term in numerous songs, such as "And It Stoned Me" and "He Ain't Give You None". He used it with great success to combine the erotic with the religious such as "rock your jelly roll soul" in live performances of "Into the Mystic." The term is also used repeatedly in the Grateful Dead song "Dupree's Diamond Blues". Sonic Youth's "Dirty Boots" describes "all the girls there playin' on a jelly roll," and declares that it's "time to rock the road/And tell the story of the jelly rollin'." [3] George Ivan Morrison OBE (generally known as Van Morrison) (born August 31, 1945) is a singer-songwriter from Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... The Grateful Dead were an American rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. ... Sonic Youth is a seminal American alternative rock group formed in New York City in 1981. ...

Charles Mingus' instrumental "Jelly Roll" is included in his classic album Mingus-Ah-Um. The song is half bebop and half deliberately down-and-dirty Dixieland. Charles Mingus (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979), also known as Charlie Mingus, was an American jazz bassist, composer, bandleader, and occasional pianist. ... Bebop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. ... Dixieland music is a style of jazz. ...

The term jelly bean has been used for a pimp. Jelly Belly beans come in more than 50 flavors, each one marked by a different color. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

External link

• The Van Morrison Website: "Jelly Roll"