Yelling out this humorous backronym for sh*tmight just tame the anger a bit. A sister who is afraid of losing her brother and Sadie's grandmother and aunt, all tell their stories adding to Sadie's own. Those who live on Valley Drive along the Spring River in Hardy awoke around 3 Friday morning to first responders urging them to leave their homes due to rising water. According to World Wide Words, when asked if it meant Creek Indians, their expert responded with: Quite certainly not. Theres no better zinger than a bless your heart delivered in a condescending tone of voice that implies, as the Southern Decoder puts it, youre dumb, homely, or otherwise impaired, but you cant help it.Go ahead and practice it in the mirror a few times. When you're fixin' to do something, it's going to happen, but you also may decide to take your sweet time. My officers and fire department, we went along the river houses and notified everybody and recommended evacuation, said Hardy Police Chief Scott Rose. According to http://www.aboutnorthgeorgia.com/ang/Benjamin_Hawkins: Generally recognized as the Creek Indian agent, Benjamin Hawkins also held the title of General Superintendent of all tribes south of the Ohio River. Well, at least we thought we did.but maybe not. No, we don't mean you need to go fix your hair. Speaking ofI declare, this now old-fashioned phrase acts as flustered response to an insult or an unbelievable story about someone who sadly made it into the rumor mill. Where did this contraction, popular in both African American English and Southern American English, come from? 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. Chief Rose is asking drivers to be cautious while out and about. Wow! 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. It's true, we do have a mouthful of sayings that only Southerners understand. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. And yes, they roll their eyes, too. The nabbit, gonnit, gummit, blasted, and burnit match the rhythm of damn it, but they can easily be modified for use as an adjective or adverb: That dagnab idiot didnt look to the dadgum left and, dadburnit, he crossed over in my dadblasted lane and dadburn near hit me. When used as a stand-alone oath, hold out on the first syllable and accentuate the second: DaaadGUMMit! You might say cocola. from The New York Times: If there is a good state of the world in 2021 the Lord willing and the creek don't rise everyone and all Blue Dogs in office needs to recognize . The story of Benjamin Hawkins relationship with the Creek,Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians goes back to 1786, when America was working on solidifying its hold on the new nation. Something needed to fill in the gap: Yall is one solution associated with the South, with all generally serving to clarify more than one you is being addressed. Im not going to wrestle with historians and their Creek uprising story. Fans of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek will love this intimate insight into a fiercely proud, tenacious community and relish the voices of the forgotten folks of Baines Creek. This one may be self-explanatory, but we can imagine it originating back in the days of stagecoaches, when horse-and-buggy pairs filled the streets. A Quite certainly not. In the Deep South? A true Southern tradition. You Cant Use These English Words In The UK, Understanding Black History: 10 Terms That Illuminate The Black Experience In The US. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. The saying "God willing and the Creek don't rise." Came from those traveling west in the OLD DAYS. As I was in a museum, I felt confident in repeating the knowledge to others as fact. A search for the word rise does not produce this phrase, so it appears that the body of water theory was correct after all. The lyrics play on the expression Lord willing and the creek don't rise, which is thought to originate from Alabama. Theres nothing more Southern than a lively Hey, yall! And dont you dare think of spelling it yallSouthern Living has decreed this contraction of you all is spelled one way, and one way only. Someone kicked in with we say cricks. The word you use for a fizzy, carbonated drink reveals a lot more about you than you know. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Runnin around like a chicken with it's head . Share. From another source Some historians attribute Benjamin Hawkins as having been the first person to ever say these words and he did so in a letter to the President of the United States. I reckon "I reckon" can replace any number of phrases, such as: I guess, I suppose, I think, and I imagine. Doh! This Southern saying, God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise. Change). A multipurpose Southernism. An odd few (6% of Americans) do use soft drink, according to the Pop vs. This phrase isn't about physical appearance. Lyndon Johnsons wife Lady Bird was fond of the phrase, and she wasnt one to cast aspersions on native Americans. 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. You will have spotted that neither of these capitalises creek, which suggests they didnt have the Creek people in mind. is a common way to use this next Southern cussemism. It traces to the 1700s and is based on darnation, the mild form of damnation. As they returned home, some of them also killed some settlers in the Ohio valley. I've never forgotten it and it's drove me nuts because I would love a copy of it. A friend of mine told me to shoot first and ask questions later. Therefore if the Lord is willing and the Creek don't rise up and start up another uprising or battle, we will be able complete what ever it is we intend to do. 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. In Gone With the Wind, Scarlett OHara says: I do declare, Frank Kennedy, if you dont look dashing with that new set of whiskers!. 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. [3] The capitalization of the word Creek supposedly referred to the Creek Indian tribe rather than a body of water.[4][5]. I'm fixin' to tell you that this phrase is as Southern as sweet tea. Leah Weiss introduces her extraordinary characters as chapters unfold and each one has their own peculiarity. A preacher who hires a very different kind of woman than is usually found in these parts. 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. It can be summarised as if all goes well. It presumably evokes occasional and unpredictably extreme rainfall in Appalachia, that has historically isolated one rural neighborhood or another temporarily inaccessible on several or many occasions. I doubt it will ever be possible to prove the source of some of these old sayings,but they sure are alot of funThis post set me a thinkin bout some things we grew up saying that we took from our eldersfor example when one is astonished you say Oh my Stars! Or when you havent seen someone in awhile you say I aint seen Hide nor Hair of em since..and there was plenty of times I was toldquit rootin around an causin such a ruckass!usually refering to me being in Granmas gardenand one can never forget the simpleSkeedaddle! Now the devil may knowWhere those sayings come from. Most of the ones on paved roads had bridges or culverts by that time, but not all of them and everyone still clearly knew what that saying meant even if the threat wasnt very real anymore. But, in the South, if your boss says that dog wont hunt in a meeting, it probably means your suggestion or idea needs improvement. By date order (spelling and titling may vary): Not to be confused with the Ray LaMontagne album, If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise, Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine All Music Guide to Country 0879307609 2003 Page 629 Jerry Reed "Here I Am collects his complete recordings for Capitol (30 songs), most of which were originals. Ain't got no dog in that race. Is this derivation correct? [1][2], Classic versions of its use tend to be along the lines of "The good Lord willing, and the creek doesn't rise"i.e. Hang onto both and 'tough it out'. We do our best to keep our promises, but sometimes unforeseen circumstances come up. 'Cause everything's fine, God, I wish it were . In response to a request that he return to Washington D.C., he wrote, "God willing and the Creek don't rise." New words appear; old ones fall out of use or alter their meanings. With a colorful cast of characters and a flair for the Southern Gothic, If the Creek Don't Rise is a debut novel bursting with heart, honesty, and homegrown grit. !, Reckon has ancestry tracing all the way back to the 1000s (and maybe older still), and originally means to count, calculate.. Marty Stuart places the words "If the Good Lord's willin' and the creek don't rise, we'll see you in the mornin'." When you're in the South, "over yonder" is a distant directionany direction. A young woman goes missing and has the town both fearful and wondering. (Or maybe the Piggly Wiggly, a Southern market chain that originated in Memphis, Tennessee). Im a longtime admirer of your calm demeanor and encyclopedic knowledge. All of my life there have been local mountain sayings that I've heard and of course repeated, complete with a North Carolina southern drawl as literal fact. Note that the Creek Nation(s) did not "rise" at all. If you answered soda, you probably hail from either coast or some patches around St. Louis or Milwaukee.Pop lovers congregate mostly in the Midwest and western states. Ireckon is the way many Southerners get to surmising about something or other. A different style for the story telling in this as we hear from many of the people in this town and Sadie Blues own story is woven through the fabric of theirs. For instance, I might promise to show up for Christmas at Grandmas if the good Lords willing and the creek dont rise. The 1800s and 1900s were much simpler times, as people didn't have the luxuries afforded in modern times. I've been in a slump of just ok books and was craving one that was special. The Cree and the Creek lived over a thousand miles apart, (the Cree are from Canada), so we now have people contributing folk etymologies that are nonsense on their face. John Wayne. The most interesting often hail from our older generations, such as the WWII era and those raised by them. Did you know the saying God willing and the Creek dont rise was in reference to the Creek Indians and not a body of water? If we relied on written sources it would be hard to believe in such continued use. If the creek don't risewas a whimsical way of saying that the speaker would carry out some task provided that no figurative obstacle were put in his path. Siever, known as Nolichucky Jack to his friends, was as brutal to the Cherokee and Creek as they were to him, but Siever knew to frame his attacks as responses to incursion or wrongs. I have even heard the accents and many of the stories from various artists who escaped the confines of this culture and were successful in attaining fame and fortune for themselves. While this phrase may sound made up, it's simply our multisyllabic manner of saying something is askew. Your email address will not be published. Weiss has spun me upside down in this backward county in the Appalachian mountains and made a southerner out of me. Youre still going to the grocery store. If you're trying to be nice, but you just can't quite let it go, "bless your heart" is a go-to. In fact, Georgia and South Carolina produce more peaches than any other states in the South. Apparently Carter had a great many pills, because the phrase found its way into the Southern vocabulary. This string of double negatives is actually meant as encouragement! Positive thinking, Southern style. Historically, Southerners in the Appalachian mountains pronounced eternal as tarnal. That pronunciation suggests a clever word-smoosh between tarnal and damnation, so the savvy Appalachians could euphemistically express their anger without wasting an extra breath. Grahams American Monthly Magazine, Jun. PS A belated congratulations on your appointment as moderator, Tom. The expression is incorrectly attributed on modern social media[citation needed] to an Indian agent, Benjamin Hawkins, in the late 18th century in a rumored letter not found in any archive to the U.S. President. Pot callin the kettle black. You'll also find a longer version of my official bio: It's bold, powerful, dark and hard to believe that this is a debut novel. (Recall, also, that the Creek who did go to war against the whites were a smaller group within the Creek nation and that the larger group remained neutral or actively assisted the whites in the warat which point they were betrayed by having the U.S. sieze all their land.). 1851. However, the first President to move to Washington was John Adams on 1 November 1800. Translated, this means: "We'll be there unless something out of our control stops us." (LogOut/ Donate via PayPal. Any of you word experts have solid information? The lyrics play on the expression Lord willing and the creek don't rise, which is thought to originate from Alabama. And yes, I have heard the music of this culture and watched the dancing. Cant never could is a reminder that if you dont even try, you wont ever accomplish your goal. This was the phrase that he always used, at the end of each performance. Its typically used to describe a situation thats gone askew, awry, or out of alignment. I was going to ask him why, but I had to shoot him. "If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise" was later covered by Johnny Cash during his tenure at Sun, and a few of the other tracks here ", If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise, "If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise", Learn how and when to remove this template message, "World Wide Words: God willing and the creek don't rise", "William Clark Green: 'Ringling Road' Album Review", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=If_the_Good_Lord%27s_Willing_and_the_Creek_Don%27t_Rise&oldid=1067282742, "If The Lord's Willing And The Creeks Don't Rise", song by, "If The Good Lord's Willing And The Creek Don't Rise", Lattie Moore, Jerry Reed 1961, "If The Good Lord's Willing", Ray Godfrey, arranged Jerry Reed, Tollie Records 1964, "(Be The Good Lord Willing) The Creek Don't Rise", Jivin' Gene, arranged Smith, Hall-Way Records 1964, "God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise", with the lyric "God willin' an the creek don't rise, I'll be home again before this time next year." Get help and learn more about the design. A: "Do you reckon we'll have enough from this harvest to make ends meet?" B: "God willing and the creek don't rise." Over yonder past the cotton field. by Leah Weiss. I was surprised as all get out. This was a Traveling Sister Read with Brenda, Sarah, Jennifer and Porshajo. 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. Over yonder toward the water tower. 132 Copy quote. Eventually, you became a singular pronoun, and we lost the plural pronouns. If the Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss (Author), Tom Stechschulte (Narrator), Kate Forbes (Narrator). It mentions . 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, good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, come March of next year, I'll be 225 years old. Somehow, the word went full circle and is now considered a distinctly Southern invention. Poor little doggy. "Well I s'wanee" evokes the Southern Suwannee River. When the road looks rough ahead, remember the 'Man upstairs'. Every researcher who has investigated the expression has dismissed an Indian connection as untrue. Instead of "Well, I swear," Southerners have adopted a geographically inspired alternative. In his response, he was said to write, God willing and the Creek dont rise. Because he capitalized the word Creek it is deduced that he was referring to the Creek Indian tribe and not a body of water. To cover your bases you might say, "I'll see you then if the creek don't rise." I reckon she skipped town on account of her mama being madder than a wet hen. Alongside fixin to, this is a quintessential term to strike a match under your vocab and hear it holler Yeehaw!! Theres two or three creeks, he said. 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.. Johnny Cash had a hit with the song If The Good Lords Willing, and Hank Williams Jr. titled his song If the Good Lords Willin (And The Creeks Dont Rise).. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. 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. Phrase [ edit] Lord willing and the creek don't rise ( idiomatic, US, informal) Barring unforeseen circumstances. Some say farmers used to dunk their hens when they got broody. If you think you can't, you won't be able to accomplish something, but if you think you can, you'll succeed. Though youre likely to hear Southernisms such as. 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. You dont know whats underneath that water, Rose said. A rising creek could spell trouble, as it can lead to flooding and other issues. You'll most often hear it coming out of Mama's mouth when the kids are running amok. Though youre likely to hear Southernisms such as hold your horses and pretty as a peach nationwide, youll likely only hear the following from a true Southerner. Eli is the backbone of the community; all he wants is a better life for the people of Baines Creek evidenced by the succession of teachers he has procured.and been scared off, and his scheming troublemaking spinster of a sister Prudence who "don't like nobody" doesn't help matters any, but when the giant 6' 2" Kate Shaw arrives, wellthat's another story. It took a further decade for it to become popular as a supposedly hayseed utterance, sometimes as and the crick dont rise to reflect a regional form. "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]. Charles Wilson said the flood waters are something he has to live with to enjoy residing on the river. Every researcher who has investigated the expression has dismissed an Indian connection as untrue. The tale is widely reproduced and believed nevertheless. 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!. It's a more conditional statement of intent than come hell or high water. Accents vary by regionand sometimes even city to city. A true Southern tradition. Well, whether its Creek or creek, it would still have much of the same effectyou wont be going where you thought you would or could. I see some folks walk easy and carry peace on their shoulders, but I been chained to a iron life." Leah Weiss, If the Creek Don't Rise 3 likes Like HARDY, Ark. Mentioning Benjamin Hawkins is a masterstroke, since he was the General Superintendent for Indian Affairs between 1796 and 1818 and was principal Indian agent to the Creek nation; he became so close to its people that he learned their language, was adopted by them and married a Creek woman. https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Lord_willing_and_the_creek_don%27t_rise&oldid=70955250. What better way to sweeten the sour than with a classic Southern libation? (LogOut/ God willing and the creek don't rise If all goes as it should; if everything goes well. Grahams American Monthly Magazine, Jun. By extension, maybe the Southern US expression was the way for an affronted or shocked listener to say none of that crazy untoward talk or behavior shall have power over me.. It's raining cats and dogs. purchase. And I have used this page's title often-feeling quite sure I knew exactly what it meant. "The Good Lord willing and the 'creek' don't rise" is just one of them. 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. And even if it did, the initial capital letter would mean nothing, as at the time it was still common practice to capitalise all nouns. Your email address will not be published. If someone tells you that you've got gumption, you should thank them, and then walk a little taller, because you've received a lovely Southern compliment. It is a quintessential Southern phrase, said by friends and family on porches and in rocking chairs all across the South. Weiss has a unique voice. There is no typical Southern accent. 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. DeSantis ends Disney's free reign over Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. Copyright Michael Quinion, 1996. "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." But we declareif your only knowledge of Southern sayings comes fromGone With the Wind, youre missing out on a lot of Southern expressions. Unlike the United States Postal Service, whose motto proclaims "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night" will keep them from their routes, sometimes a Southern visit is thwarted by a rising creek or other unexpected bump in the road. If the Creek Don't Rise. This is our creative way of saying that you shouldn't crow like a rooster about your wealth and belonging today, because it could all disappear tomorrow. Andrew Jackson sent a request for reinforcements before the Battle Of New Orleans. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The dialect is obscure and living conditions primitive with a feel more like the 1870's than the 1970's..so backward..so uncivilized..the men so brutal and lawless, and for Sadie Blue, life seems grave. Every researcher who has investigated the expression has dismissed an Indian connection as untrue. During the early days of the War of 1812, one party of Creek marched north and joined the Indians fighting in Ohio and Michigan, participating in the River Raisin Massacre. An exclamationof surprise, anger, happiness, really any emotionthat is appropriate in nearly every Southern scenario. 4.5 stars! Baines Creek, high up in the Appalachian mountain, a poor place filled with impoverished people, a place where moonshine is king. Another publication, Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge Jurisdiction, Volumes 88-89, coins the phrase: if the Lord is willing and the creek dont fire, we will so do. Oh, if the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise. If The Creek Don't Rise is a unique novel whose structure feels light and breezy and veers drastically from the standard formula found in fiction. Its worth looking into because of the way in which it has been elaborated in the version you quote.. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. The General replied to Stonewall Jackson that he would send troops "the Good Lord is willing and the Creeks don't rise (in rebellion). But, what we do know is English once used you and ye strictly to address a group of people. It is a breathtaking and gritty portrayal of hillbilly life from the year 1970 which is set in the Appalachian Mountains. 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. Required fields are marked *. The distinct English dialect of the American South, which has a close relationship with Black English (African American Vernacular English), is fascinatingand plenty lively. Since we'd never dare hang up the phone while Mama's chatting away, this may be the only way to end your conversation in a timely manner. To understand Hawkins, I read a little further into his history. Older than Methuselah. The written record dates the saying from about the middle of the nineteenth century. Like trying to meet a friend for lunch but having the car breakdown on the way. Settle in, because whatever we're talking about is going to take all day. (Yes, it is terrible grammar, but that is how it is said. 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. You may still hear it if you stop into a country store. I'm a sucker for the well turned phrase and I was highlighting sentences here, one after another. Youd be in a real fix then. And yes, they roll their eyes, too. 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. Rather, when this phrase is used, we'd like you to mind your manners and stop acting inappropriately.
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