When you're exhausted in an I'm-so-beat-I-can't-go-on kind of way, you're definitely worn slap out. Its a one-size-fits-all reply that can both express sympathy and insult someone, depending on the delivery. A: "Do you reckon we'll have enough from this harvest to make ends meet?" B: "God willing and the creek don't rise." There is a lot of controversy about this fairly common folk saying. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. She's seventeen, pregnant and two weeks into her marriage to Roy Tupkin, after enduring brutal beatings, Sadie knows she has made a mistake. Because that is supposedly how the original author first wrote it. An odd few (6% of Americans) do use soft drink, according to the Pop vs. I will be at church on Sunday. Your email address will not be published. During the course of his 21 years in these positions he would oversee the longest period of peace with theCreek, only to watch his lifetime of work destroyed by a faction of this Indian Nation known as the Red Sticks during the War of 1812. Anecdotal evidence from people who have got in touch with me down the years suggests that it has been in regular use throughout the lifetimes of some elderly folk in parts of the US, either in the form you give or as the good Lord willing and the creek dont rise. Wow! Some newspaper clippings are harder to determine which meaning they meant. A sister who is afraid of losing her brother and Sadie's grandmother and aunt, all tell their stories adding to Sadie's own. Neither provides any documentation: http://pub122.ezboard.com/fwordoriginsorgfrm2.showMessage?topicID=191.topic, http://members.aol.com/MorelandC/HaveOriginsData.htm#LordWillingAndTheCreek. We've had a lot of delays, but Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we should have the house finished before winter. Leah Weiss introduces her extraordinary characters as chapters unfold and each one has their own peculiarity. Im told it was a sign-off tag line of the 1930s US radio broadcaster Bradley Kincaid. If the Creek Don't Rise Quotes Showing 1-14 of 14 "Times like these I wonder if I ever been happy. It's almost always accompanied by a good-natured, perhaps slightly exasperated, shake of the head. It is 1970, and we follow the story of a young Appalachian girl, Sadie Blue age 17, pregnant and newly married to an evil young man who is abusive. I grew up with that saying and Ive said it more times than I can count. The request was to a general that had troops near Horseshoe Bend Alabama, protecting settlers against a Creek Indian uprising. If you've just had a big Southern lunch, complete with cornbread, collard greens, and pecan pie, you're definitely full as a tick. But we declareif your only knowledge of Southern sayings comes fromGone With the Wind, youre missing out on a lot of Southern expressions. World Wide Words is copyright Michael Quinion, 1996. I was reading a post on one of the West Virginia pages that I follow in which a person referenced God willing and the creeks dont rise. in reference to rain and floods. But today Ive stumbled across the claim that it refers to an uprising by the Creek (or Cree) Indians. Marty Stuart places the words "If the Good Lord's willin' and the creek don't rise, we'll see you in the mornin'." In the South, a hill of beans is its own measuring stick. Now, she admits to saying this to her children. Learn how your comment data is processed. The expression "the creek don't rise" is an American slang expression implying strong intentions subject to complete frustration by uncommon but not unforeseeable events. The word you use for a fizzy, carbonated drink reveals a lot more about you than you know. It can also be the opening to striking a bargain, sharing a strongly held opinion, or offering a piece of advice you may or may not want to hear. "The Good Lord willing and the 'creek' don't rise" is just one of them. Page created 25 Feb. 2012, Problems viewing this page? Your first citation is much stronger than your second. The written record dates the saying from about the middle of the nineteenth century. I will continue to look for references to this phrase origin and would welcome discussion to prove (one way or the other) what the original author intended to mean. Two years after the signing of the treaty, Benjamin Hawkins died at the site known as Old Agency. God willing and the creek don't rise If all goes as it should; if everything goes well. If you find only minnows, though, they look even smaller compared to the heavy catch you hoped for. The Creek so-called civil war of 1812 involving the Red Stick faction, and their combat North and South, appears to have been an impetus for that forts creation. The doin hasnt been done yet. Grahams American Monthly Magazine, Jun. The earliest example known is this mock rustic speech: Feller-citizens Im not customed to public speakin before sich highfalutin audiences. The most interesting often hail from our older generations, such as the WWII era and those raised by them. But, what we do know is English once used you and ye strictly to address a group of people. When the road looks rough ahead, remember the 'Man upstairs'. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), http://www.aboutnorthgeorgia.com/ang/Benjamin_Hawkins, Follow Thoughts and Ponderances on WordPress.com. Cookies and privacy An exclamationof surprise, anger, happiness, really any emotionthat is appropriate in nearly every Southern scenario. Threats not only from abroad, but internally as well, forced the fledgling nation to negotiate treaties with the tribes on the western frontier. Instead of "Well, I swear," Southerners have adopted a geographically inspired alternative. This phrase enjoyed national exposure in 1988 after Texas Governor Ann Richards remarked: When we pay billions for planes that wont fly, billions for tanks that wont fire, and billions for systems that wont workthat old dog wont hunt.. Youve heard that old saying, Ill be there if the creek dont rise? Well, theyve all risen, and a lot of people are staying home because of that.. What Grandma says when you pull in the driveway, pop out of the car, and come running. It mentions Benjamin Hawkins of the late 18th century, who was asked by the US president to go back to Washington. If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise, If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise, Good Lord's Willin and The Creek Don't Rise, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_creek_don%27t_rise&oldid=1136534691, This page was last edited on 30 January 2023, at 20:39. If you're trying to be nice, but you just can't quite let it go, "bless your heart" is a go-to. "If God so wills, and as long as intense rain does not wash away bridges or parts of dirt roads, or cover roads too deeply for safely following them." The Lafayette gazette (Louisiana), 3 Nov. 1894. This book reminds me of that. So, if during the time of Benjamin Hawkins life, the Creek Indians were experiencing the longest period of peace, why would he fear that they would rise. In the Deep South? 133 Copy quote. Whatscatawampus? Phrase [ edit] Lord willing and the creek don't rise ( idiomatic, US, informal) Barring unforeseen circumstances. And really, wouldn't we all druther have our druthers? I agree that the Indian origin sounds unlikely. Whether you're talking about volume or value, a hill of beans isn't worth much. Note that the Creek Nation(s) did not "rise" at all. World Wide Words tries to record at least a part of this shifting wordscape by featuring new words, word histories, words in the news, and the curiosities of native English speech. [3] The capitalization of the word Creek supposedly referred to the Creek Indian tribe rather than a body of water.[4][5]. This is a point of emphasis and exclamation that often ends without any additional telling at all. Yet here I stand before you a speckled hermit, wrapt in the risen-sun counterpane of my popilarity, an intendin, Providence permittin, and the creek dont rise, to go it blind!. Faire can mean both do and make. This phrase entered the Southern vernacular via Louisiana and is in regular use in the New Orleans area. Werefixin to tell you more Southernisms, and now were doing just that. Every researcher who has investigated the expression has dismissed an Indian connection as untrue. Depending on where you are, youre likely to hear words combined together (gonna for going to) and different vowel sounds than youre used to, including mah for my and git for get.Git has been in use since the 16th century all over the country, but is particularly common in the South, where it appears in everything from classic literature (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird) to personal correspondence (I want you to write me as soon as you git this letter, from a letter dating back to the Civil War). Take a load off the ole dogs, sit on your front porch, and let your know neighbors know about that sugar honey iced teayou had to deal with today. False folk etymology. The saying has been attributed to Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson among others, on the usual principle that attaching a famous name to a story validates it. This Southern saying, God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise. Southerners adopted this phrase wholeheartedly from its early usages in 1700s England and Scotland (where it meant "common sense"). And I mean took me there! We are an American people, born under the flag of independence and if the Lord is willing and the creeks dont rise, the American people who made this country will come pretty near controlling it. The New Madrid earthquake (reputedly the largest in recorded history in North America) created the division between traditionalist Creek (Red Sticks) and those more willing to seek accommodation with the majority of the tribe. This 19th-century phrase was once used to refer to some fierce, imaginary beast, until we went off course and adopted the current meaning of "awry.". Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. A multipurpose Southernism. Origin debaters point to Col. Benjamin Hawkins of North Carolina, a Continental Congress senator. From the beginning, the first narrative of Sadie Blue, which broke my heart from the first page, it feels like it will be her story. There's two or three creeks," he said. The resulting warfare and predictable civilian losses in the South reportedly gave rise (using the Southern frontier penchant for willin as opposed to the educated willing) to the phrase which was then likely mistakenly attributed to Hawkins due to his Native American connections. You might say cocola. Somehow, the word went full circle and is now considered a distinctly Southern invention. Baines Creek, high up in the Appalachian mountain, a poor place filled with impoverished people, a place where moonshine is king. As was the case with Dr Mattox, the remark is routinely attributed to first being said by Benjamin Hawkins. Anytime it rains as hard as it did last night, it always brings back fears of having to face something like we did in 1984, he said. If the creek dont rise was a whimsical way of saying that the speaker would carry out some task provided that no figurative obstacle were put in his path. You dont know whats underneath that water, Rose said. What Do Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, And Lent Mean? Runnin around like a chicken with it's head . This article about the English language is a stub. Feller-citizens Im not customed to public speakin before sich highfalutin audiences. Variants substitute "God" or "Good Lord" (with or without "the") for "Lord", and substitute "crick" or "river" for "creek", or capitalize it as "Creek" or "Creeks" based on confusion with the Creek Indian tribe. Back when I was in the fourth grade we had an English teacher who dumped a box of books out one day and told us to read them and do book reports. If The Creek Don't Rise. I first heard of the notion of creek meaning Creek on a camping trip a couple of years ago at Barkcamp State Park in the area of Wheeling, WV. All rights reserved. A true Southern tradition. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. What's The Difference Between Y'all And Ya'll? The lyrics play on the expression Lord willing and the creek don't rise, which is thought to originate from Alabama. Chief Rose is asking drivers to be cautious while out and about. Yes, I had heard of the Appalachians and how the culture spreads along those mountains over more than a dozen States. The catchphrase itself was associated with Hank Williams. The distinct English dialect of the American South, which has a close relationship with Black English (African American Vernacular English), is fascinatingand plenty lively. The states involved sent Hawkins,Andrew Pickens(South Carolina), Joseph Martin (Georgia) andLachlan McIntosh(Continental representative, Georgia) to negotiate a treaty to end the fighting. And I have used this page's title often-feeling quite sure I knew exactly what it meant. In alternating first person narratives from a cast of characters that will be hard to forget, Leah Weiss took me to the mountain community called Baines Creek in the Appalachian Mountains in NC. But did he really say the words quoted or was a phrase morphed to include him as the author? Theres two or three creeks, he said. It has been noted that the phrase should be correctly written as God willing and the Creek dont rise. As I was in a museum, I felt confident in repeating the knowledge to others as fact. 15. According to World Wide Words, when asked if it meant Creek Indians, their expert responded with: Quite certainly not. In fact, virtually all the examples that Ive found in books and newspaper archives down to the present day are in lower-case. Because he capitalized Creek its asserted that he was referring to the Creek Indian tribe and not a body of water. January 2021: Hat tip to Maria whonotes that the collection of Benjamin Hawkinss letters has now been digitized and can be read at this link. It can be deployed sincerely, but if you're hearing "bless your heart" in the South, it probably has an edge to it. Sign up for writing inspiration in your email, , Scarlett OHara says: I do declare, Frank Kennedy, if you dont look dashing with that new set of whiskers!, The distinct English dialect of the American South, which has a close relationship with Black English (African American Vernacular English), is fascinatingand plenty lively. Grandma might whisper this one over her hymnal if she sees you cutting up in church on Sunday morning. I ate that up with a spoon and did my best to read them all. https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Lord_willing_and_the_creek_don%27t_rise&oldid=70955250. Thats exactly who I was hoping would reply to my question. Weiss has a unique voice. Copyright 2023 KAIT. It's a more conditional statement of intent than come hell or high water. If the Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss (Author), Tom Stechschulte (Narrator), Kate Forbes (Narrator). This string of double negatives is actually meant as encouragement! A very young, newly married pregnant woman, she vows her no good moonshining husband has beaten her for the last time. Grahams American Monthly Magazine, Jun. "If The Good Lord's Willing and The Creek Don't Rise" is a 1955 American country song by Jerry Reed which was particularly popularized by the 1958 recording of Johnny Cash and has been covered by multiple artists.[1]. In his response, he was said to write, "God willing and the Creek don't rise." A Quite certainly not. You gonna do nothing?". At the same time there is some evidence that the creation of Fort Deposit (Fort Deposite) in Georgia was a cause of concern in that munitions and arms were stockpiled. I am usually among those who bristle at change in usage. New words appear; old ones fall out of use or alter their meanings. This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 01:18. In other words, Ill make it to Grandmas if the indians dont go on the warpath. Someone reminded me not to be reminded of you. Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll have that new barn finished in time for the harvest. The first big battles in the Creek War were, indeed, attacks on white settlements, but it was not a matter of an uprising that threatened settlers, rather it was an outbreak of war between two armed groups in which whites and Indians sought each other out. That argues for a more mundane origin: the old-time difficulties of travelling on dirt roads that forded rivers and streams; a sudden storm could cause water levels to rise without warning and render the route impassable. Over yonder past the cotton field. Its typically used to describe a situation thats gone askew, awry, or out of alignment. 1851. Well, at least we thought we did.but maybe not. "Creek" originated as a reference to creeks flooding and preventing travel, but is sometimes re-interpreted as a reference to the Creek tribe. This one originates from the 19th century, when Carter Products marketed "Little Liver Pills" across the country. Is It Called Presidents Day Or Washingtons Birthday? He wrote it in response to a request from the President to return to our Nations Capital and the reference is not to a creek, but The Creek Indian Nation. Every researcher who has investigated the expression has dismissed an Indian connection as untrue. In a letter to the Commander in Chief, Hawkins stated that he would return to the nations capital, God willing and the Creek dont rise., Hawkins, college-educated and a well-written man would never have made a grammatical error, so the capitalization of Creek is the only way the phrase could make sense and the reference is not to a creek, but The Creek Indian Nation. We like to read this as one of the greatest Southern encouragements, but, like most of these phrases, you can use it however you'd like. But despite its gentle execution, this story delivers some of the heaviest of punches and invites the reader to step outside of the book for a spell And this is one appearance in a newspaper: We are an American people, born under the flag of independence and if the Lord is willing and the creeks dont rise, the American people who made this country will come pretty near controlling it. QFrom Bob Scala: An item that has been floating around the internet claims that the expression God willing and the creek dont rise referred to the Creek Indians, not a body of water. Oh, if the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise. "Druthers" roughly translates to "I would rather," meaning, "If had things my way" The phrase is celebrated in song in the hilarious, Southern-inspired Broadway musical Li'l Abner, in which the title character sings "If I had my druthers, I'd druther have my druthers than anything else I know." When I was growing up, this was something we said all of the time. Jan 29, 2014 at 19:34 . Accents vary by regionand sometimes even city to city. This phrase can be intensified by the addition of the word "way," as in "way over yonder.". (I would not be surprised to discover that the last contributor on your first link is none other than our own samclem.). A strikingly sincere portrait of a town and its buried secrets from an outstanding new voice in southern fiction. Yet here I stand before you a speckled hermit, wrapt in the risen-sun counterpane of my popilarity, an intendin, Providence permittin, and the creek dont rise, to go it blind!. Soda web site devoted to this age-old debate. It is a modern error to presume that "the creek don't rise" is a grammatical error, so the fact that a speaker in the past was college educated would not be an argument against his having used the phrase. (LogOut/ Hardy citizens awoken by first responders urging evacuation, Lawsuit filed against Summit Utilities over price gouging, 2023 2A State Basketball Tournament: EPC boys fall to Marshall in Quarterfinals, 2023 2A State Basketball Tournament: Bay boys fall to Bigelow in Quarterfinals, Arkansas State womens basketball falls to Southern Miss in SBC Quarterfinals, Arkansas women's basketball falls to #1 South Carolina in SEC Tournament, Fast Break Friday Night (3/3/23): Jonesboro boys advance to 6A state semifinals. If you just heard your mama come home and you haven't finished your chores, she will definitely be "madder than a wet hen." Just wait till you see what Granny Gladys does..with a bit of help from Mother Nature..hehehe. "If the Creek Don't Rise" We'll be there unless something out of our control stops us. Now, she admits to saying this to her children.
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