Im not going to wrestle with historians and their Creek uprising story. 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. Runnin around like a chicken with it's head . There is a lot of controversy about this fairly common folk saying. 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. 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.. 15 Odd Southern Sayings Their Origins - Bourbon and Boots In fact, virtually all the examples that Ive found in books and newspaper archives down to the present day are in lower-case. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. The tale is widely reproduced and believed nevertheless. 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. The 1800s and 1900s were much simpler times, as people didn't have the luxuries afforded in modern times. The approximately 20,000 Creek Indians that still exist reside in Oklahoma. Now, she admits to saying this to her children. Or, depending on where you live, it could be Sewanee, the small college town in Tennessee. 132 Copy quote. Someone once said that when you visit the South, you need a translator. And, when the doins been done, the feller done did it. Over yonder toward the water tower. by Leah Weiss. A Quite certainly not. 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! Its typically used to describe a situation thats gone askew, awry, or out of alignment. "Like all great southern. This was an extremely enjoyable read! Poor little doggy. Get help and learn more about the design. Some newspaper clippings are harder to determine which meaning they meant. Its a one-size-fits-all reply that can both express sympathy and insult someone, depending on the delivery. When you've met the girl of your dreams, chances are she is "pretty as a peach." I agree that the Indian origin sounds unlikely. If The Creek Don't Rise 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. Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise - phrase meaning and origin 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). My officers and fire department, we went along the river houses and notified everybody and recommended evacuation, said Hardy Police Chief Scott Rose. John Wayne. Oh, how I loved this story - I simply didnt want it to end! Youll thank us later! Share. Southern Slang: If The Creek Don't Rise | What does it mean? | Ask A You might say cocola. Over yonder past the cotton field. 50 of the Best Southern Sayings | Serving Up Southern QFrom Bob Scala: An item that has been floating around the internet claims that the expression God willing and the creek dont rise referred to the Creek Indians, not a body of water. You Cant Use These English Words In The UK, Understanding Black History: 10 Terms That Illuminate The Black Experience In The US. We've had a lot of delays, but Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we should have the house finished before winter. 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. Funny Phrases ben stanczyk 10/25/01 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. The Problem with Saying, "Lord Willing and the Creek Don't Rise" 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. "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. 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. 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. Its worth looking into because of the way in which it has been elaborated in the version you quote. 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. I was going to ask him why, but I had to shoot him. The General replied to Stonewall Jackson that he would send troops "the Good Lord is willing and the Creeks don't rise (in rebellion). https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Lord_willing_and_the_creek_don%27t_rise&oldid=70955250. 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 I mean took me there! It can be summarised as if all goes well. "If the Creek Don't Rise" We'll be there unless something out of our control stops us. Theres probably a connection between eternal damnation and tarnation. Where did this contraction, popular in both African American English and Southern American English, come from? 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. Baines Creek, high up in the Appalachian mountain, a poor place filled with impoverished people, a place where moonshine is king. A friend of mine told me to shoot first and ask questions later. If you use this phrase, you could be declaring any number of things: surprise, dissent, happiness. What's The Difference Between Y'all And Ya'll? This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. The tale is widely reproduced and believed nevertheless. 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. It's almost always accompanied by a good-natured, perhaps slightly exasperated, shake of the head. Maya Rodale is a best-selling romance author. Not one shred of evidence is a clear invitation to fault the writer. 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. Its especially difficult for people that live south of River Road and some of them that live in Woodland Hills. 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. Origin debaters point to Col. Benjamin Hawkins of North Carolina, a Continental Congress senator. Werefixin to tell you more Southernisms, and now were doing just that. The thing isI read one that I have never stopped thinking about. The underscore of that sentiment would be that he married his common-law wife on his deathbed and she was of the Creek Indians. Georgia-born blogger Jennifer Collins says she always rolled her eyes when her mom said this to her. Change). The saying "God willing and the Creek don't rise." Came from those traveling west in the OLD DAYS. He was a politician and Indian agent. A very young, newly married pregnant woman, she vows her no good moonshining husband has beaten her for the last time. 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. 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. World Wide Words is copyright Michael Quinion, 1996. 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. 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. Nor is grammar an argument in favor the the subject being plural. From the start there's been a film of dingy on my days.. (LogOut/ 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. Any of you word experts have solid information? Older than Methuselah. To understand Hawkins, I read a little further into his history. (I would not be surprised to discover that the last contributor on your first link is none other than our own samclem.). Is It Called Presidents Day Or Washingtons Birthday? Then theres a long gap in the record before it began to appear again in the 1950s. This is a point of emphasis and exclamation that often ends without any additional telling at all. Page created 25 Feb. 2012, Problems viewing this page? If the Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss (Author), Tom Stechschulte (Narrator), Kate Forbes (Narrator). This phrase can be intensified by the addition of the word "way," as in "way over yonder.". 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 was surprised as all get out. "The Good Lord willing and the 'creek' don't rise" is just one of them. (LogOut/ 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. And yes, they roll their eyes, too. 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. Dont worry, if youre helping a friend make groceries, youre not expected to create food from scratch. A strikingly sincere portrait of a town and its buried secrets from an outstanding new voice in southern fiction. It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. What is the origin of the phrase the good Lord willing and the creek dont rise? It is sometimes thought that the word "Creek" instead refers to the Creek Indians, but this is unlikely. I've been in a slump of just ok books and was craving one that was special. 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. The only requirement is that you declare it loud and proud. This string of double negatives is actually meant as encouragement! The catchphrase itself was associated with Hank Williams. The lyrics play on the expression Lord willing and the creek don't rise, which is thought to originate from Alabama. She's not looking for sweets; she wants a hug and a kiss. No bigger than a minnow in a fishing pond is as tiny as can be. This phrase isn't about physical appearance. 15. 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. But in following verses the rhyme changes through "creeks don't rise", "creek stay low", back to "creeks don't rise".