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. 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. 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. From the start there's been a film of dingy on my days.. Donate via PayPal. If you're trying to be nice, but you just can't quite let it go, "bless your heart" is a go-to. 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 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. Look up Lord willing and the creek don't rise in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. In fact, virtually all the examples that Ive found in books and newspaper archives down to the present day are in lower-case. 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 Farmers know that if you do something 'til the cows come home, it's going to take all day. 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. Actually this is not proven. Any of you word experts have solid information? Hang onto both and 'tough it out'. As was the case with Dr Mattox, the remark is routinely attributed to first being said by Benjamin Hawkins. 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.. This article about the English language is a stub. 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 did he really say the words quoted or was a phrase morphed to include him as the author? The Lafayette gazette (Louisiana), 3 Nov. 1894. All rights reserved.This page URL: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-god1.htmLast modified: 25 February 2012. This means that if everything continues to plan, things will be okay. I'm fixin' to tell you that this phrase is as Southern as sweet tea. I'm a sucker for the well turned phrase and I was highlighting sentences here, one after another. Not one shred of evidence is a clear invitation to fault the writer. 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 Lafayette gazette(Louisiana), 3 Nov. 1894. An odd few (6% of Americans) do use soft drink, according to the Pop vs. 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. 15 Odd Southern Sayings Their Origins - Bourbon and Boots If the Creek rose, Hawkins would have to be present to quell the rebellion. writes one commentator.. "We plan to be there," we might say, and then add on a quick, "Lord willing and the creek don't rise." It's another way of saying, "I am dead serious about keeping my word on this, short of a hurricane or earthquake." In other words, I'm doggedly committed to this unless the devil stops me. 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? Maya Rodale is a best-selling romance author. 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!. Learn how your comment data is processed. !, Reckon has ancestry tracing all the way back to the 1000s (and maybe older still), and originally means to count, calculate.. 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. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. 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. In fact, Georgia and South Carolina produce more peaches than any other states in the South. And yes, they roll their eyes, too. Runnin around like a chicken with it's head . Creek don't rise - phrase meaning and origin - Phrasefinder It's almost always accompanied by a good-natured, perhaps slightly exasperated, shake of the head. You might say cocola. (I would not be surprised to discover that the last contributor on your first link is none other than our own samclem.). A: "Do you reckon we'll have enough from this harvest to make ends meet?" Don't worry, though, everyone hears this every now and again. In his reply, he was said to have written, God willing and the Creek dont rise. Yes, I had heard of the Appalachians and how the culture spreads along those mountains over more than a dozen States. 1851. These skies can darken at a moment's notice, and summer afternoons often see winds churning and heavy rain clouds blowing in to cool that Southern summer heat. It was so enjoyable and fun reading and discussing the book with them. Pot callin the kettle black. Threats not only from abroad, but internally as well, forced the fledgling nation to negotiate treaties with the tribes on the western frontier. Page created 25 Feb. 2012, Problems viewing this page? This is a point of emphasis and exclamation that often ends without any additional telling at all. This was an extremely enjoyable read! (the good) Lord willing and the creek don't rise rural If all goes as it should; if everything goes well. Someone kicked in with we say cricks. 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. If we relied on written sources it would be hard to believe in such continued use. Doh! and the word HOPE. (LogOut/ If the Creek Don't Rise: Tales From the South Kindle Edition This book reminds me of that. 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. Im not going to wrestle with historians and their Creek uprising story. I ate that up with a spoon and did my best to read them all. The only requirement is that you declare it loud and proud. They were both corrected by a good soul who told them that Creek, for the purposes of this phrases origin, meant Creek Indian. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Funny Phrases ben stanczyk 10/25/01 Some say it originated with the Scottish-Irish term ye aw. My officers and fire department, we went along the river houses and notified everybody and recommended evacuation, said Hardy Police Chief Scott Rose. Affixes dictionary. DeSantis ends Disney's free reign over Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. The tale is widely reproduced and believed nevertheless. "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 I was just hoping for something more concrete about the real origin. PS A belated congratulations on your appointment as moderator, Tom. 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. Ain't got no dog in that race. 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. 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. 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. 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. The English language is forever changing. This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 01:18. 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. TOP 25 QUOTES BY JOHN WAYNE (of 133) | A-Z Quotes 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. Andrew Jackson sent a request for reinforcements before the Battle Of New Orleans. Thats a mouthful, but we lumped these all together because they are allsubstitutes for (God) d*mn it. Your email address will not be published. Southerners adopted this phrase wholeheartedly from its early usages in 1700s England and Scotland (where it meant "common sense"). 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. Southerners tell it like it isno matter what it isso think of this as a learning moment. Eventually, you became a singular pronoun, and we lost the plural pronouns. 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. 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). The phrase may be accompanied by a gesture indicating north, south, east, or west. Every researcher who has investigated the expression has dismissed an Indian connection as untrue. "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 the Deep South? And, good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, come March of next year, I'll be 225 years old. This is a high compliment in the South, since Southern states are known for their peaches. Often said as Lord willing and the creek dont rise, this expression means, with a little bit of luck and no unexpected problems, things should work out. The creek don't rise - Wikipedia A true Southern tradition. It is sometimes thought that the word "Creek" instead refers to the Creek Indians, but this is unlikely. Come visit me at LeahWeiss.com where you can subscribe to my CREEKRISE author news. And really, wouldn't we all druther have our druthers? Kicked in the gut and sucker punched with one of the best books I have ever read. Nor is grammar an argument in favor the the subject being plural. Be it Gods will, or, we go to war, my plans will go according to one of those two choices. The approximately 20,000 Creek Indians that still exist reside in Oklahoma. "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 proper phrase is Lord willing and the Creek don't rise. Have you ever seen a wet hen? The earliest example known is this mock rustic speech: Feller-citizens Im not customed to public speakin before sich highfalutin audiences. A handful of rivers and streams will be out of their banks by Friday evening and Saturday morning. Note that the Creek Nation(s) did not rise at all. Cant never could is a reminder that if you dont even try, you wont ever accomplish your goal. It's a vivid phrase, and it's an accurate one too. 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. 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. 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. 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. Ireckon is the way many Southerners get to surmising about something or other. Weiss has a unique voice. origin of phrase - "if the creek don't rise" - Factual Questions Do You Know These Sizzlin' Southern Sayings? - Dictionary.com 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. Synonyms [ edit] (barring unforeseen circumstances): God willing, Lord willing Translations [ edit] show phrase References [ edit] 15. 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!. This phrase isn't about physical appearance. But I know of just four instances from that century. Many thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the ARC in return for an unbiased review. The word you use for a fizzy, carbonated drink reveals a lot more about you than you know. Now, she admits to saying this to her children. Soda web site devoted to this age-old debate. It is a quintessential Southern phrase, said by friends and family on porches and in rocking chairs all across the South. You will have spotted that neither of these capitalises creek, which suggests they didnt have the Creek people in mind. You Cant Use These English Words In The UK, Understanding Black History: 10 Terms That Illuminate The Black Experience In The US. Just wait till you see what Granny Gladys does..with a bit of help from Mother Nature..hehehe. Only 15 days into her marriage to Roy Tupkin and Sadie Blue is already . The tale is widely reproduced and believed nevertheless. And that is the highest praise from me. The second contributor on the AOL site is simply repeating things without any understanding. No bigger than a minnow in a fishing pond is as tiny as can be. Change). Positive thinking, Southern style. Well, that might just push you over the edge, and as you lean back youre bound to say, Im as full as a tick. Itd be plumb crazy not to express yourself (and your full belly) with this fun, old Southern idiom. It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. Step into the Deep South and experience the lives and hardships, hopes and dreams, of folk who have nothing except gritand sometimes loveas their currency. Unarguable Southern criticism. Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise - phrase meaning and origin If the Creek Dont Rise by Leah Weiss is a 2017 Sourcebooks Landmark publication. 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. Historians and etymologists may cringe, but the modern usage of Lord willin and the creek (or crick) dont rise is about the stream, not the Creek tribe. Cookies and privacy He was a politician and Indian agent. A true Southern tradition. In the 1900s, the word evolved, taking on a Southern spin as well as new meanings such as "courage" and "get-up-and-go.".