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. Whether you're talking about volume or value, a hill of beans isn't worth much. Not one shred of evidence is a clear invitation to fault the writer. 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.. But, what we do know is English once used you and ye strictly to address a group of people. 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.. Often said as "Lord willing and the creek don't rise," this expression means, with a little bit of luck and no unexpected problems, things should work out. Let me love you again, give me one more try. Weiss has a unique voice. It was so enjoyable and fun reading and discussing the book with them. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Can't Never Could. It may take the form of real or mock dialect, in variations like " Lor' willin' an' th' crick don' rise.". But today Ive stumbled across the claim that it refers to an uprising by the Creek (or Cree) Indians. It was a big old chunk of a book, so only a couple of the kids including myself read it. As was the case with Dr Mattox, the remark is routinely attributed to first being said by Benjamin Hawkins. Take a look here Michael: http://www.genealogynation.com/creek/. She captures the whole Appalachian scene - the vocabulary, the falling down houses, the likker, the poverty. Now, she admits to saying this to her children. "Well I s'wanee" evokes the Southern Suwannee River. Statements of the form "God/Lord willing and (some other condition being met)" are ancient extensions of simple acceptance of God's will in phrases like God willing and Lord willing. There is no reason to suppose the Indian variant is true. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Marty Stuart places the words "If the Good Lord's willin' and the creek don't rise, we'll see you in the mornin'." Grandma might whisper this one over her hymnal if she sees you cutting up in church on Sunday morning. I've never forgotten it and it's drove me nuts because I would love a copy of it. Baines Creek is a small remote mountain settlement in North Carolina where many can't read, education is unheard of and catastrophic poverty is the norm. And of course, there's nothing prettier than a warm summer day picking peaches in the sunshine. 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. In fact, Georgia and South Carolina produce more peaches than any other states in the South. Thats a mouthful, but we lumped these all together because they are allsubstitutes for (God) d*mn it. purchase. From the present day of the story in 1970 to flashbacks of the past and dreams, these various points of view give us a vivid picture of this place and the people who live there. Hang onto both and 'tough it out'. You gonna let him break your spirit, too? It must surely be the creation of a fertile modern mind desiring to put the flesh of evidence on the dry bones of outright invention. Its worth looking into because of the way in which it has been elaborated in the version you quote. Note that the Creek Nation(s) did not "rise" at all. After eating a big, delicious Southern dinner Granny just made, you have to finish up with a slice of sweet potato pie, right? "He broke bout every piece of sweet in you. Origin debaters point to Col. Benjamin Hawkins of North Carolina, a Continental Congress senator. 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. 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. This book reminds me of that. When the road looks rough ahead, remember the 'Man upstairs'. 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. This one originates from the 19th century, when Carter Products marketed "Little Liver Pills" across the country. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. And really, wouldn't we all druther have our druthers? 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. There's two or three creeks," he said. If you've just had a big Southern lunch, complete with cornbread, collard greens, and pecan pie, you're definitely full as a tick. Because he capitalized Creek its asserted that he was referring to the Creek Indian tribe and not a body of water. Wow! Im told it was a sign-off tag line of the 1930s US radio broadcaster Bradley Kincaid. If you refer to itno matter the brand or flavoras Coke, chances are you grew up in the South. 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. Well, hells bells. The only requirement is that you declare it loud and proud. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Runnin around like a chicken with it's head . Your email address will not be published. Someone reminded me not to be reminded of you. Curiously, this word might have roots in offbeat British humor from the 1840s. the creek don't rise " is an American slang expression implying strong intentions subject to complete frustration by uncommon but not unforeseeable events. We've had a lot of delays, but God willing and the creek don't rise, we should have the house finished before winter. 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. The second contributor on the AOL site is simply repeating things without any understanding. (Or maybe the Piggly Wiggly, a Southern market chain that originated in Memphis, Tennessee). The saying "God willing and the Creek don't rise." Came from those traveling west in the OLD DAYS. Following that treaty John Siever formed the state of Franklin from land previously claimed by North Carolina but never ceded by the Indian tribes. Oh, how I loved this story - I simply didnt want it to end! 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. Actually this is not proven. Yelling out this humorous backronym for sh*tmight just tame the anger a bit. Translated, it means, "He sure does think a lot of himself." It's a vivid phrase, and it's an accurate one too. If you hear this one, it's best to slow down. And Lord have mercy, wait till you meet Birdie with her gamy birds-nest hairdo and top notch fine feathered companion Samuel.and all his buddies. 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! (Yes, it is terrible grammar, but that is how it is said. In his experience, it doesnt take much for local creeks and streams to cause trouble. They were both corrected by a good soul who told them that Creek, for the purposes of this phrases origin, meant Creek Indian. 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. Synonyms [ edit] (barring unforeseen circumstances): God willing, Lord willing Translations [ edit] show phrase References [ edit] The researchers went on to cite two different publications in the 1800s in which the authors did not capitalize the word creek, leading one to believe they did not mean the people proper. The tale is widely reproduced and believed nevertheless. However, the first President to move to Washington was John Adams on 1 November 1800. 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. Where did this contraction, popular in both African American English and Southern American English, come from? 'Cause everything's fine, God, I wish it were . The earliest example known is this mock rustic speech: Feller-citizens Im not customed to public speakin before sich highfalutin audiences. Over yonder down the road. 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. Come visit me at LeahWeiss.com where you can subscribe to my CREEKRISE author news. If The Creek Don't Rise. All rights reserved. Or, depending on where you live, it could be Sewanee, the small college town in Tennessee. This article about the English language is a stub. [3] The capitalization of the word Creek supposedly referred to the Creek Indian tribe rather than a body of water.[4][5]. Whatscatawampus? It was set in the Ozark mountains featuring what some people called a witch. There, we listened to amazing stories told by Dr. John Mattox. God willing and the creek don't rise If all goes as it should; if everything goes well. Poor little doggy. While there, we happened upon a museum dedicated to the Underground Railroad. If the Creek Dont Rise by Leah Weiss is a 2017 Sourcebooks Landmark publication. There is no typical Southern accent. If you're trying to be nice, but you just can't quite let it go, "bless your heart" is a go-to. 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. John Wayne. 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. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Leah Weiss introduces her extraordinary characters as chapters unfold and each one has their own peculiarity. Firsts, Mines, Asks. All rights reserved. Over yonder past the cotton field. This United Statesrelated article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Andrew Jackson sent a request for reinforcements before the Battle Of New Orleans. 1851. It has been noted that the phrase should be correctly written as God willing and the Creek dont rise. 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. 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. Well, at least we thought we did.but maybe not. Its not a recent change. No, we don't mean you need to go fix your hair. 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. 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. "Creek" originated as a reference to creeks flooding and preventing travel, but is sometimes re-interpreted as a reference to the Creek tribe. The exact tranlation might be, 'If God is willing, and there isn't a flood that would prevent us from meeting again next week'. Positive thinking, Southern style. The Creek were a tribe of Native Americans (indians) who would ambush people who were traveling West. Required fields are marked *. According to World Wide Words, when asked if it meant Creek Indians, their expert responded with: " Quite certainly not. He was a politician and Indian agent. But I know of just four instances from that century. 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. Oh, if the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise. 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. For instance, I might promise to show up for Christmas at Grandmas if the good Lords willing and the creek dont rise. Any of you word experts have solid information? 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. Someone once said that when you visit the South, you need a translator. Kicked in the gut and sucker punched with one of the best books I have ever read. 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. I've been in a slump of just ok books and was craving one that was special. According to World Wide Words, when asked if it meant Creek Indians, their expert responded with: Quite certainly not. Is It Called Presidents Day Or Washingtons Birthday? (Im terrible about reading usernames as I scan threads, and I completely missed who had contributed that comment.). However, this is clearly one of those evolving language cases. No bigger than a minnow in a fishing pond is as tiny as can be. 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. The swear-word equivalent would be something along the lines of No sh*t!I declare may have come from an English oath (the sworn proclamation kind) declaring that no foreign parties have power to subvert the Crown. Positive thinking, Southern style. I was just hoping for something more concrete about the real origin. A multipurpose Southernism. "You've heard that old saying, 'I'll be there if the creek don't rise?' Well, they've all risen, and a lot of people are staying home because of that." 04 Mar 2023 03:30:05 In the Deep South? I'm a sucker for the well turned phrase and I was highlighting sentences here, one after another. Eventually, you became a singular pronoun, and we lost the plural pronouns. 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. 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. It can be summarised as "if all goes well". 133 Copy quote. It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. Maybe not all dogs were made for hunting some prefer the warmth of a fireplace and the comfort of your lap. When you're fixin' to do something, it's going to happen, but you also may decide to take your sweet time. A: "Do you reckon we'll have enough from this harvest to make ends meet?" B: "God willing and the creek don't rise." A rising creek could spell trouble, as it can lead to flooding and other issues. 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. It mentions . "If the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise.". 24 of 30. Here are a couple of examples of this claim. "Lord willing and the creek don't rise" is a sort of backwoods phrase that has the same meaning, but is more folksy and less devoted. It mentions Benjamin Hawkins of the late 18th century, who was asked by the US president to go back to Washington. I will be at church on Sunday. The approximately 20,000 Creek Indians that still exist reside in Oklahoma. Im a longtime admirer of your calm demeanor and encyclopedic knowledge. Does a bear shit in the woods? 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 You might say cocola. What's The Difference Between Y'all And Ya'll? To understand Hawkins, I read a little further into his history. In Gone With the Wind, Scarlett OHara says: I do declare, Frank Kennedy, if you dont look dashing with that new set of whiskers!. and the word HOPE. In his response, he was said to write, "God willing and the Creek don't rise." Every researcher who has investigated the expression has dismissed an Indian connection as untrue. In the 1900s, the word evolved, taking on a Southern spin as well as new meanings such as "courage" and "get-up-and-go.". Accents vary by regionand sometimes even city to city. 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 string of double negatives is actually meant as encouragement! From the start there's been a film of dingy on my days.. Jan 29, 2014 at 19:34 . 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. The distinct English dialect of the American South, which has a close relationship with Black English (African American Vernacular English), is fascinatingand plenty lively. 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. And, good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, come March of next year, I'll be 225 years old. "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." Here is an article that casts rather a lot of doubt on your assertion: 'God willing and the creek don't rise' M Quinion_World Wide Words: Q From Bob Scala: An item that has been floating around the internet claims that the expression 'God willing and the creek don't rise' referred to the Creek Indians, not a body of water. 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. This phrase isn't about physical appearance. 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. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Some newspaper clippings are harder to determine which meaning they meant. 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. 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. If so, you know that being madder than a wet hen is very mad indeed. When the U.S. demanded that the murderers be handed over for punishment, the Creek executed them themselves (for the Ohio murders, not for the River Raisin battle and aftermath). Unarguable Southern criticism. Over yonder toward the water tower. Instead of "Well, I swear," Southerners have adopted a geographically inspired alternative. 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. Southerners tell it like it isno matter what it isso think of this as a learning moment. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. No Bigger Than a Minnow in a Fishing Pond, A Rooster One Day and A Feather Duster the Next, If You Know These Sayings, You Definitely Grew Up in the South, Only Real Southerners Know the Meaning of "Putting On the Dog", Things Only Southern Moms Say To Their Daughters, Things Only Southerners Say When It Snows. 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. 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. Learn how your comment data is processed. Cows aren't known for their speed, and they are usually out and about, wandering until feeding time. from The New York Times: And, good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, come March of next year, I'll be 70 years old. It is a physical and mental state a few degrees past weary and just this side of dog-tired. "If the creek don't rise" is a slang phrase predominantly used in the Southeastern United States and can translate to "if all goes well." It's a more conditional action statement than the famous phrase "come hell or high water." by Leah Weiss. Your email address will not be published. Maya Rodale is a best-selling romance author. You dont know whats underneath that water, Rose said. While this phrase may sound made up, it's simply our multisyllabic manner of saying something is askew. !, Reckon has ancestry tracing all the way back to the 1000s (and maybe older still), and originally means to count, calculate.. We do our best to keep our promises, but sometimes unforeseen circumstances come up. PS A belated congratulations on your appointment as moderator, Tom. 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!. What Do Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, And Lent Mean? It's almost always accompanied by a good-natured, perhaps slightly exasperated, shake of the head. (LogOut/ Because that is supposedly how the original author first wrote it. What in tarnation? Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review. But, in the South, if your boss says that dog wont hunt in a meeting, it probably means your suggestion or idea needs improvement. But we declareif your only knowledge of Southern sayings comes fromGone With the Wind, youre missing out on a lot of Southern expressions. https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Lord_willing_and_the_creek_don%27t_rise&oldid=70955250. If you think you can't, you won't be able to accomplish something, but if you think you can, you'll succeed. You gonna do nothing?". Just wait till you see what Granny Gladys does..with a bit of help from Mother Nature..hehehe. If we relied on written sources it would be hard to believe in such continued use. Grahams American Monthly Magazine, Jun. "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." The Lafayette gazette (Louisiana), 3 Nov. 1894. It completely nailed the "mountain living" that I remembered my grandmother talking about. 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. 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. It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. Is this derivation correct? This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 01:18. A search for the word rise does not produce this phrase, so it appears that the body of water theory was correct after all. 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. In his reply, he was said to have written, God willing and the Creek dont rise. But if the supposed letter was ever written, it doesnt now exist in any archive that any researcher has so far found (his letters have been published, if anybody would like to check). 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. 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.
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