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The author presents certain data to show the undoubted presence of double meanings of a sexual nature in the blues. He says that the blues arising originally from the common negro folk have been widely exploited as a form of popular song. The blues deal with the man-woman relation, and the double meanings may be divided into two general groups:—
1Those meanings pertaining specifically to the sex organs.
2Those relating to the sex act or to some other aspect of sex life.
Relatively few symbols for the sex organs are found in the blues, and by far the most common of these terms is jelly roll. This term as used by the lower class negro stands for the vagina, or for the female genitalia in general, and sometimes for sexual intercourse. The following lines illustrate the use of jelly roll in these songs:—
1I ain't gonna give nobody none o' this jelly roll.
Nobody in town can bake sweet jelly roll like mine.
Your jelly roll is good.
2I don't know but I've been tol',
Angels in heaven do the sweet jelly roll.
3Dupree was a bandit,
He was brave an' bol',
He stole that diamon' ring
For some of Betty's jelly roll.
Another term for the female organs is cabbage. Other symbols are keyhole and bread. The latter, sometimes found as cookie and cake, is almost as common as jelly roll in everyday negro slang.