You gonna do nothing?". document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I absolutely loved the southern voice of these characters throughout this book. If you're trying to be nice, but you just can't quite let it go, "bless your heart" is a go-to. 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. And that is the highest praise from me. 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. But I know of just four instances from that century. 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).. It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. Where did this contraction, popular in both African American English and Southern American English, come from? (LogOut/ 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. Gumption is spirit, courage, spunk, boldness, and initiative. "Like all great southern. You dont know whats underneath that water, Rose said. 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). This was an extremely enjoyable read! It completely nailed the "mountain living" that I remembered my grandmother talking about. If the Creek Dont Rise by Leah Weiss is a 2017 Sourcebooks Landmark publication. It can be summarised as "if all goes well". Threats not only from abroad, but internally as well, forced the fledgling nation to negotiate treaties with the tribes on the western frontier. The saying "God willing and the Creek don't rise." Came from those traveling west in the OLD DAYS. New words appear; old ones fall out of use or alter their meanings. Weiss has a unique voice. It seems this saying is a favorite expression of country singers. What better way to sweeten the sour than with a classic Southern libation? Marty Stuart places the words "If the Good Lord's willin' and the creek don't rise, we'll see you in the mornin'." 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. (LogOut/ The most interesting often hail from our older generations, such as the WWII era and those raised by them. 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!! For instance if someone invites you to church on Sunday, you would respond "I'll be there with bells on God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise.". It seems this saying is a favorite expression of country singers. Hang onto both and 'tough it out'. in Williams' mouth in his tribute album Hillbilly Heaven. Cookies and privacy
If the good Lord's willin and the creek don't rise. 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. If you refer to itno matter the brand or flavoras Coke, chances are you grew up in the South. Theres two or three creeks, he said. Someone kicked in with we say cricks. We do our best to keep our promises, but sometimes unforeseen circumstances come up. 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 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. Look up Lord willing and the creek don't rise in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. A rising creek could spell trouble, as it can lead to flooding and other issues. Who better to write about the risks of the Creek rising in revolt? Funny Phrases ben stanczyk 10/25/01 Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Weiss has spun me upside down in this backward county in the Appalachian mountains and made a southerner out of me. 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. The approximately 20,000 Creek Indians that still exist reside in Oklahoma. Or, depending on where you live, it could be Sewanee, the small college town in Tennessee. While this phrase may sound made up, it's simply our multisyllabic manner of saying something is askew. I've been in a slump of just ok books and was craving one that was special. (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.). What in tarnation? 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. That book was a 1908 publication and leans toward the thought of Creek Indian, even if not capitalized, because of the word fire (as in shooting guns). While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. 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. 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.. The only requirement is that you declare it loud and proud. 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. Runnin around like a chicken with it's head . and the word HOPE. 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. Donate via PayPal. 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. Southerners adopted this phrase wholeheartedly from its early usages in 1700s England and Scotland (where it meant "common sense"). Now, she admits to saying this to her children. 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. If the Creek rose, Hawkins would have to be present to quell the rebellion. writes one commentator.. 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. 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. 'Cause everything's fine, God, I wish it were . Oh, how I loved this story - I simply didnt want it to end! Page created 25 Feb. 2012, Problems viewing this page? You may still hear it if you stop into a country store. Poor little doggy. Signed in November, 1785, A Treaty With the Cherokee (the technical name of the Treaty of Hopewell) created the first rift between theCherokee Nationand the Chickamauga Cherokee that would not end until the Chickamauga went West following the Revolt of the Young Chiefs. The written record dates the saying from about the middle of the nineteenth century. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Quick, what do you call a soft drink? As they returned home, some of them also killed some settlers in the Ohio valley. 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? 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. Wow! When you're exhausted in an I'm-so-beat-I-can't-go-on kind of way, you're definitely worn slap out. Used in a sentence - If the creek don't rise and God's willing, you should be able to see this video. Your email address will not be published. Well, at least we thought we did.but maybe not. Is It Called Presidents Day Or Washingtons Birthday? World Wide Words is copyright Michael Quinion, 1996. the creek don't rise. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. It has been noted that the phrase should be correctly written as God willing and the Creek dont rise. The distinct English dialect of the American South, which has a close relationship with Black English (African American Vernacular English), is fascinatingand plenty lively. Grahams American Monthly Magazine, Jun. 133 Copy quote. All rights reserved. The underscore of that sentiment would be that he married his common-law wife on his deathbed and she was of the Creek Indians. 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. Although he admits when the rain starts to fall, it makes him a little nervous. The tale is widely reproduced and believed nevertheless. 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. Maybe not all dogs were made for hunting some prefer the warmth of a fireplace and the comfort of your lap. Then theres a long gap in the record before it began to appear again in the 1950s. [2] In the Reed song and Cash cover the verses vary the rhyme, so the opening line commences: If the good Lord's willing and the creek stays down I'll be in your arms time the moon come around. 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. Synonyms [ edit] (barring unforeseen circumstances): God willing, Lord willing Translations [ edit] show phrase References [ edit] Youre still going to the grocery store. Lyndon Johnsons wife Lady Bird was fond of the phrase, and she wasnt one to cast aspersions on native Americans. 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. 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. The thing isI read one that I have never stopped thinking about. Throughout the years, through these floods, weve had several roads that have washed completely out, so you just dont know whats down there.. 1851. And I mean took me there! This was a Traveling Sister Read with Brenda, Sarah, Jennifer and Porshajo. Its typically used to describe a situation thats gone askew, awry, or out of alignment. Kicked in the gut and sucker punched with one of the best books I have ever read. 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. 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 we relied on written sources it would be hard to believe in such continued use. 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. You will have spotted that neither of these capitalises creek, which suggests they didnt have the Creek people in mind. (the good) Lord willing and the creek don't rise rural If all goes as it should; if everything goes well. "Creek" originated as a reference to creeks flooding and preventing travel, but is sometimes re-interpreted as a reference to the Creek tribe. It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. If youre not using this phrase what are you waiting for? If the Creek Don't Rise is a collection of hard-used characters, tangled relationships, family angst, and fortitude. 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! You gonna let him break your spirit, too? 132 Copy quote. 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. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. (Yes, it is terrible grammar, but that is how it is said. 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. There, we listened to amazing stories told by Dr. John Mattox. Thats a mouthful, but we lumped these all together because they are allsubstitutes for (God) d*mn it. My favorite variant is the phrase Hank Williams Sr. sometimes used to end his shows: "Lord willin' and the creek don't rise, we'll see you before long." - MT_Head. Accents vary by regionand sometimes even city to city. But we declareif your only knowledge of Southern sayings comes fromGone With the Wind, youre missing out on a lot of Southern expressions. If you use this phrase, you could be declaring any number of things: surprise, dissent, happiness. Like trying to meet a friend for lunch but having the car breakdown on the way. 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. The second contributor on the AOL site is simply repeating things without any understanding. The doin hasnt been done yet. No, we don't mean you need to go fix your hair. A preacher who hires a very different kind of woman than is usually found in these parts. In his response, he was said to write, "God willing and the Creek don't rise." (KAIT) - Its been a busy 24 hours for first responders in Sharp County. PS A belated congratulations on your appointment as moderator, Tom. 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. Actually this is not proven. To cover your bases you might say, "I'll see you then if the creek don't rise." But in following verses the rhyme changes through "creeks don't rise", "creek stay low", back to "creeks don't rise". Curiously, this word might have roots in offbeat British humor from the 1840s. I reckon "I reckon" can replace any number of phrases, such as: I guess, I suppose, I think, and I imagine. 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 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. 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 expression make groceries is a translation of the French faire son march (to do ones market shopping). Someone reminded me not to be reminded of you. In the 1900s, the word evolved, taking on a Southern spin as well as new meanings such as "courage" and "get-up-and-go.". "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. 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. DeSantis ends Disney's free reign over Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. A true Southern tradition. On his deathbed he married the Creek woman who had been his common-law wife. Turn around, and please dont drive through it. Ireckon is the way many Southerners get to surmising about something or other. A strikingly sincere portrait of a town and its buried secrets from an outstanding new voice in southern fiction. A search for the word rise does not produce this phrase, so it appears that the body of water theory was correct after all. Soda web site devoted to this age-old debate. What's The Difference Between Y'all And Ya'll? 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. Origin debaters point to Col. Benjamin Hawkins of North Carolina, a Continental Congress senator. 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). Youd be in a real fix then. Doh! Let me love you again, give me one more try. If you think you can't, you won't be able to accomplish something, but if you think you can, you'll succeed. It is a breathtaking and gritty portrayal of hillbilly life from the year 1970 which is set in the Appalachian Mountains. Andrew Jackson sent a request for reinforcements before the Battle Of New Orleans. Ain't got no dog in that race. 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. This article about the English language is a stub. Share. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. Only 15 days into her marriage to Roy Tupkin and Sadie Blue is already . 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. I was just hoping for something more concrete about the real origin. A friend of mine told me to shoot first and ask questions later. 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. The clipping below from 1892 is a reference to flooding waterways not allowing the postmaster to get to his office. Given that many small farm streams were crossed without bridges, which worked find most of the time, a swollen stream would cause problems. If the Creek Don't Rise. Older than Methuselah. 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. We didnt. The grit and darkness don't just belong to Sadie, though. Anything to the degree of "all get out" is something to talk about. There is a lot of controversy about this fairly common folk saying. Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review. In the Deep South? Well, hells bells. 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. the creek don't rise " is an American slang expression implying strong intentions subject to complete frustration by uncommon but not unforeseeable events. You might say cocola. What Grandma says when you pull in the driveway, pop out of the car, and come running. 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.
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