Talk:Jelly roll (slang)

9/8/2015 I would add the comment that since Heroin wasn't invented until 1898 (Bayer) and didn't become a scourge until after that, the criticism below is misguided. and if you listen to jazz and blues records, the songs aren't about heroin they are definitely about sex. I would say the edits claiming it is about heroin are incorrect. — Preceding unsigned comment added by John Fields (talk • contribs) 11:57, 8 September 2015 (UTC)

not sure how to edit this page, but also used by john martyn, a lot!

This entry is incorrect. It is also very amazing, i didn't know this!- The KKP        Jelly Roll is traditionally used as slang for heroin, not sexual parts. The hidden meaning was always heroin. References such as "momma said you got to get off the sweet jellyroll," or "jellyroll killed my pappy," or "I got a sweet jelly to satisfy my worried soul," make much more sense as 'heroin' than "sexual parts."
 * Go ahead and add that information in, assuming you can find a good source that claims it's true. Personally I'm dubious that the term always means anything, since slang tends to change over time and geography, but a drug reference wouldn't really surprise me. --thither 05:32, 10 October 2007 (UTC)hi

The interesting thing is that the use of the word "jelly" is not included in the Josh White quote. He says, "Jelly Roll killed my pappy, drove my mammy stone blind." For that reason I always thought it was a reference to some form of STD —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sharper11 (talk • contribs) 14:59, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

And I don't think Mingus' or van Morrison's use of the term 'jelly roll' was a sexual reference. In both cases, I think the reference was to Jelly Rool Morton who was an early jazz pianist. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.78.26.81 (talk) 20:10, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

Jelly Roll Morton, one of the earliest Jazz musicians, got his start playing in brothels in New Orleans according to Ken Burns in his documentary about Jazz. Apparently he would peek through a hole in the wall and improvise piano to the sex going on on the other side. He asserts that it makes sense that Jazz would originate in brothels because the only freedom African American people won post-civil war was their sexual freedom. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.90.224.38 (talk) 20:50, 25 April 2016 (UTC)

Jelly Roll is black slang from the nineteenth century for the vulva, with various related meanings, i.e. sexual intercourse, a loving woman, a man obsessed with finding same. "What you want?" she asked softly. "Jelly roll?'" (Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward Angel 1929). The term probably derives from 'jelly' meaning semen: "Give her cold jelly to take up her belly, And once a day swinge her again" (John Fletcher, The Begger's Bush 1622). Related expressions include 'jelly bag,' referring both to the scrotum and the female genitals; 'jerk [one's] jelly,' to masturbate; and 'jelly,' a good-looking woman. 'Jelly roll' appears in many blues songs, such as "I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None o' My Jelly Roll," "Nobody in Town Can Bake a Jelly Roll Like Mine," and "Jelly Roll Blues," the last by Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe "Jelly Roll" Morton (1885-1941).

"stoned me just like jelly roll" -van morrison   that must be some good lovin. In the movie "step into the elctric mist" a character says.. She was taken out of the business of elling jelly roll. While reffering to a prostitute quitting being a prostitute. So yes I believe its to do with sex or sexual organs

Expand, merge or redirect
After removing an excess of lyrics, what was left on this page was a dictionary definition (something which Wikipedia is not). It explained the meaning, etymology and usage examples of a slang expression. I can't find any encyclopedic content on this page. Nothing here rises past what I would expect to read in a truly great unabridged dictionary. The definitions and usage discussions belong over in Wiktionary where folks with the right skills, interests and lexical tools can more easily sort out the meanings and origins.

Options to fix the page here include:
 * 1) Expand the page with encyclopedic content - that is, content that goes well beyond the merely lexical.
 * 2) Redirect the page to a more general page.
 * 3) Replace the current contents with a soft-redirect to Wiktionary (usually done using the wi template).

Pending a better answer, I'm implementing option 3 for now. Rossami (talk) 11:45, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Jelly roll meaning ....
In the movie step into the electric mist a character says she was gonna be taken out of the business of selling jelly roll while referring to a prostitute quitting prostitution. So I believe jelly roll refers to sex or sexual orgins not heroin 32.209.49.72 (talk) 08:26, 17 January 2022 (UTC)