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. The General replied to Stonewall Jackson that he would send troops "the Good Lord is willing and the Creeks don't rise (in rebellion). Well, hells bells.
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). 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. Well, I found it. 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. and the word HOPE. God willing and the creek don't rise If all goes as it should; if everything goes well. "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, in the South, if your boss says that dog wont hunt in a meeting, it probably means your suggestion or idea needs improvement. Neither provides any documentation: http://pub122.ezboard.com/fwordoriginsorgfrm2.showMessage?topicID=191.topic, http://members.aol.com/MorelandC/HaveOriginsData.htm#LordWillingAndTheCreek. Two years after the signing of the treaty, Benjamin Hawkins died at the site known as Old Agency.
All the ones I know from growin up : r/ShitSouthernersSay 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. (Yes, it is terrible grammar, but that is how it is said. If you find only minnows, though, they look even smaller compared to the heavy catch you hoped for. Just wait till you see what Granny Gladys does..with a bit of help from Mother Nature..hehehe. Im a longtime admirer of your calm demeanor and encyclopedic knowledge. Be it Gods will, or, we go to war, my plans will go according to one of those two choices. It is a quintessential Southern phrase, said by friends and family on porches and in rocking chairs all across the South. On his deathbed he married the Creek woman who had been his common-law wife. They had a conversation in which the phrase was discussed and noted as being about the Creek Indians. Copyright 2023 KAIT. The most interesting often hail from our older generations, such as the WWII era and those raised by them. 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. Change). HARDY, Ark. 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.". 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! (I would not be surprised to discover that the last contributor on your first link is none other than our own samclem.). (Im terrible about reading usernames as I scan threads, and I completely missed who had contributed that comment.). 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. Translated, it means, "He sure does think a lot of himself." Funny Phrases ben stanczyk 10/25/01 Though youre likely to hear Southernisms such as. 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. It's almost always accompanied by a good-natured, perhaps slightly exasperated, shake of the head. When you arrive on the banks of the fishing pond on Saturday mornings, you're hoping for a good catchenough big catfish and bream to fry up for the family on Saturday night. It completely nailed the "mountain living" that I remembered my grandmother talking about. Take a look here Michael: http://www.genealogynation.com/creek/. 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. As they returned home, some of them also killed some settlers in the Ohio valley. And yes, they roll their eyes, too. Grandma might whisper this one over her hymnal if she sees you cutting up in church on Sunday morning. Youll thank us later! Note that the Creek Nation(s) did not "rise" at all. Get help and learn more about the design. Over yonder toward the water tower. Translated, this means: "We'll be there unless something out of our control stops us."
Lord willing and the creek don't rise - Wiktionary To understand Hawkins, I read a little further into his history. The phrase may be accompanied by a gesture indicating north, south, east, or west. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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. The grit and darkness don't just belong to Sadie, though. If youre not using this phrase what are you waiting for?
If The Creek Don't Rise A very young, newly married pregnant woman, she vows her no good moonshining husband has beaten her for the last time. 1851. He would tell the audience that we would meet again, "If the good Lord's willin', and the creek don't rise". What in tarnation? What Do Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, And Lent Mean? This was an extremely enjoyable read! It's raining cats and dogs. A true Southern tradition. This was a Traveling Sister Read with Brenda, Sarah, Jennifer and Porshajo. Because he capitalized Creek its asserted that he was referring to the Creek Indian tribe and not a body of water. Or, depending on where you live, it could be Sewanee, the small college town in Tennessee. Im not going to wrestle with historians and their Creek uprising story. It's a vivid phrase, and it's an accurate one too. 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. Synonyms [ edit] (barring unforeseen circumstances): God willing, Lord willing Translations [ edit] show phrase References [ edit] Southerners adopted this phrase wholeheartedly from its early usages in 1700s England and Scotland (where it meant "common sense"). This string of double negatives is actually meant as encouragement! Because this is a progressive verb (youll make progress with it for sure), remember You were fixin to patch the hole in the wall. Never say you fixed to do it! 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. Whatscatawampus? And I have used this page's title often-feeling quite sure I knew exactly what it meant. Catawampus(or, cattywampus) may have been popularized by Brits who delighted in parodying Southern vernacular. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled, origin of phrase - "if the creek don't rise". The lyrics play on the expression Lord willing and the creek don't rise, which is thought to originate from Alabama. Anything to the degree of "all get out" is something to talk about. 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. What better way to sweeten the sour than with a classic Southern libation? 25 Southern Grandparents' Sayings That Deserve a Comeback, Forgotten Etiquette Every Child Should Learn, Kimberly Schlapman and Her Family's Tea Cakes, Lauren Alaina Talks 'American Idol', Southern Manners, and Her Grandmother's Famous Recipe, 30 Quotes That Remind Us Why Southern Manners Are So Important. It is a breathtaking and gritty portrayal of hillbilly life from the year 1970 which is set in the Appalachian Mountains. 4.5 stars! Can't Never Could. That means whatever you're talking about is worth less than very little. 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 underscore of that sentiment would be that he married his common-law wife on his deathbed and she was of the Creek Indians. John Wayne. 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. She captures the whole Appalachian scene - the vocabulary, the falling down houses, the likker, the poverty. 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. "He broke bout every piece of sweet in you. 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 .
'If The Creek Don't Rise' Traces Webs Of Hurt And Help : NPR 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. 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!. "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." The expression ". It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. If you've ever been caught in a summer storm, you know that you can feel, smell, and see a storm blowin' up across the wide Southern skies. Jan 29, 2014 at 19:34 . Youd be in a real fix then. Thats a mouthful, but we lumped these all together because they are allsubstitutes for (God) d*mn it. Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll have that new barn finished in time for the harvest. It is a paraphrase of a popular biblical saying from James 4:15, and while there are scores of citations to the phrase in the sense of the waters rising, in the US and Europe, there is not one shred of evidence of a reference to the Creek nation. It seems this saying is a favorite expression of country singers. But I know of just four instances from that century. As they returned home, some of them also killed some settlers in the Ohio valley. 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. 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.. Over yonder down the road.
Talk:Lord willing and the creek don't rise - Wiktionary It's true, we do have a mouthful of sayings that only Southerners understand. Donate via PayPal. 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. Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review. This is a point of emphasis and exclamation that often ends without any additional telling at all. This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 01:18. Your email address will not be published. Some say farmers used to dunk their hens when they got broody. This book reminds me of that. 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. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. 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. If you've read the book summary, you already know Sadie Blue lives with a devil of a man, but she's not the only one who has lived with a wife beater of a husband. A strikingly sincere portrait of a town and its buried secrets from an outstanding new voice in southern fiction. Weiss has a unique voice.
origin of phrase - "if the creek don't rise" - Factual Questions We admit that we've heard this Southernism more than once. Feller-citizens Im not customed to public speakin before sich highfalutin audiences. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. Its a one-size-fits-all reply that can both express sympathy and insult someone, depending on the delivery. "Creek" originated as a reference to creeks flooding and preventing travel, but is sometimes re-interpreted as a reference to the Creek tribe. (LogOut/
"Like all great southern writers, Leah Weiss's magic turns the local into the universal." Wiley Cash, New York Times bestselling author, on All The Little Hopes.