“Jellyman Kelly” by James Taylor
This song, inspired by a poem written by Sally, James’ daughter at age 5 ,is about a cartoon character named Jellyman Kelly and his partner Jenny Mulhenny.
As seen in the lyrics, Jellyman Kelly really enjoyed eating jelly, particularly jelly on toast. His partner Jenny, on the other hand was the daughter of a fireman who loved to boil hot water hence putting the kettle on. The singer then questions Jenny if Jelly Man Kelly can come home, then zooms into a little bit of melodious gibberish. The song ends with the writer asserting that he and his listener could one day have tea with Jellyman Kelly.
Issued in 1983 as the second track off In Harmony- A Sesame Street Record, this track was produced by Christopher Cerf.
It was written by the singer alongside his daughter, Sarah Maria, famously known as Sally, who initially had this as a poem she had written in school. Upon hearing his daughter’s poem, Taylor said he was amazed by the words and told her they had to put it into music.
