There is no typical Southern accent. It is a breathtaking and gritty portrayal of hillbilly life from the year 1970 which is set in the Appalachian Mountains. [3] The capitalization of the word Creek supposedly referred to the Creek Indian tribe rather than a body of water.[4][5]. Poor little doggy. 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. 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). "All get out" finds its way into Southern phrases constantly, and it intensifies any statement. Stop right there! Copyright 2023 KAIT. 15. 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. 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. Come visit me at LeahWeiss.com where you can subscribe to my CREEKRISE author news. Other words sites Get help and learn more about the design. (the good) Lord willing and the creek don't rise rural If all goes as it should; if everything goes well. 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. Translated, it means, "He sure does think a lot of himself." Is this derivation correct? Now, she admits to saying this to her children. This one originates from the 19th century, when Carter Products marketed "Little Liver Pills" across the country. Then theres a long gap in the record before it began to appear again in the 1950s. If the Creek Don't Rise Quotes Showing 1-14 of 14 "Times like these I wonder if I ever been happy. Runnin around like a chicken with it's head . There, we listened to amazing stories told by Dr. John Mattox. What Do Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, And Lent Mean? 1851. 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. 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). However, this is clearly one of those evolving language cases. Im told it was a sign-off tag line of the 1930s US radio broadcaster Bradley Kincaid. and the word HOPE. 24 of 30. A true Southern tradition. At the time Hawkins was Congressman, he joined other well known Southeastern American leaders in negotiating a major treaty with the Creek and Cherokee at the South Carolina city of Hopewell. Over yonder down the road. 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.". Her grandmother Gladys tells us of her awful past ridden with the drunkenness and senseless abuse. God willing and the creek don't rise If all goes as it should; if everything goes well. "If the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise.". It was a big old chunk of a book, so only a couple of the kids including myself read it. They had a conversation in which the phrase was discussed and noted as being about the Creek Indians. When you've met the girl of your dreams, chances are she is "pretty as a peach." Look up Lord willing and the creek don't rise in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Now, she admits to saying this to her children. 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. 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. So the saying came about like we'll be there.God willing and the Creek (indians) don't rise..to stop us. In Gone With the Wind, Scarlett OHara says: I do declare, Frank Kennedy, if you dont look dashing with that new set of whiskers!. [1][2], Classic versions of its use tend to be along the lines of "The good Lord willing, and the creek doesn't rise"i.e. In his reply, he was said to have written, God willing and the Creek dont rise. If the creek rises, travel will be impossible and Ill never get to Grannys. Affixes dictionary. If you find only minnows, though, they look even smaller compared to the heavy catch you hoped for. Weiss has spun me upside down in this backward county in the Appalachian mountains and made a southerner out of me. Yelling out this humorous backronym for sh*tmight just tame the anger a bit. Though youre likely to hear Southernisms such as. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. It completely nailed the "mountain living" that I remembered my grandmother talking about. You dont know whats underneath that water, Rose said. Synonyms [ edit] (barring unforeseen circumstances): God willing, Lord willing Translations [ edit] show phrase References [ edit] Im a longtime admirer of your calm demeanor and encyclopedic knowledge. She's not looking for sweets; she wants a hug and a kiss. in Williams' mouth in his tribute album Hillbilly Heaven. Note that the Creek Nation(s) did not rise at all. If you're trying to be nice, but you just can't quite let it go, "bless your heart" is a go-to. (LogOut/ Its worth looking into because of the way in which it has been elaborated in the version you quote. A: "Do you reckon we'll have enough from this harvest to make ends meet?" Positive thinking, Southern style. 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.. When you're exhausted in an I'm-so-beat-I-can't-go-on kind of way, you're definitely worn slap out. It was so enjoyable and fun reading and discussing the book with them. I am feeling culture shock from reading this book. There's two or three creeks," he said. Older than Methuselah. However, with the west in flames, both whites and Indians began organizing fighters. 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. If you think you can't, you won't be able to accomplish something, but if you think you can, you'll succeed. 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. He told us about a young man who had been in the museum some weeks previous. If you've just had a big Southern lunch, complete with cornbread, collard greens, and pecan pie, you're definitely full as a tick. If you use this phrase, you could be declaring any number of things: surprise, dissent, happiness. It's almost always accompanied by a good-natured, perhaps slightly exasperated, shake of the head. Feller-citizens Im not customed to public speakin before sich highfalutin audiences. Oh, if the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise. "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. The catchphrase itself was associated with Hank Williams. The distinct English dialect of the American South, which has a close relationship with Black English (African American Vernacular English), is fascinatingand plenty lively. (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.). 1851. The request was to a general that had troops near Horseshoe Bend Alabama, protecting settlers against a Creek Indian uprising. This book reminds me of that. "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." This string of double negatives is actually meant as encouragement! 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. 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. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled, origin of phrase - "if the creek don't rise". Origin debaters point to Col. Benjamin Hawkins of North Carolina, a Continental Congress senator. Instead of "Well, I swear," Southerners have adopted a geographically inspired alternative. It can be summarised as "if all goes well". The tale is widely reproduced and believed nevertheless. "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. Whatscatawampus? The lyrics play on the expression Lord willing and the creek don't rise, which is thought to originate from Alabama. It mentions . While there, we happened upon a museum dedicated to the Underground Railroad. You gonna do nothing?". I always took it as a reference to the level of water in a creek. "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. The "creek don't rise" phrase is now sometimes credited to this time of unrest and displacement. That means whatever you're talking about is worth less than very little. I reckon "I reckon" can replace any number of phrases, such as: I guess, I suppose, I think, and I imagine. It happens often during a Southern summer, when the heat rises and the temperatures shoot past 100. I doubt it will ever be possible to prove the source of some of these old sayings,but they sure are alot of funThis post set me a thinkin bout some things we grew up saying that we took from our eldersfor example when one is astonished you say Oh my Stars! Or when you havent seen someone in awhile you say I aint seen Hide nor Hair of em since..and there was plenty of times I was toldquit rootin around an causin such a ruckass!usually refering to me being in Granmas gardenand one can never forget the simpleSkeedaddle! Now the devil may knowWhere those sayings come from. We didnt. 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. Marty Stuart places the words "If the Good Lord's willin' and the creek don't rise, we'll see you in the mornin'." It can be summarised as if all goes well. 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). 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. If the Creek rose, Hawkins would have to be present to quell the rebellion. writes one commentator.. Oh, how I loved this story - I simply didnt want it to end! Change). "If God so wills, and as long as intense rain does not wash away bridges or parts of dirt roads, or cover roads too deeply for safely following them." I absolutely loved the southern voice of these characters throughout this book. In other words, Ill make it to Grandmas if the indians dont go on the warpath. 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. The grit and darkness don't just belong to Sadie, though. Thats a mouthful, but we lumped these all together because they are allsubstitutes for (God) d*mn it. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. It mentions Benjamin Hawkins of the late 18th century, who was asked by the US president to go back to Washington. It was set in the Ozark mountains featuring what some people called a witch. On his deathbed he married the Creek woman who had been his common-law wife. by Leah Weiss. Cant never could is a reminder that if you dont even try, you wont ever accomplish your goal. A friend of mine told me to shoot first and ask questions later. Every researcher who has investigated the expression has dismissed an Indian connection as untrue. I'm a sucker for the well turned phrase and I was highlighting sentences here, one after another. 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 Does a bear shit in the woods? [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. Unlike the United States Postal Service, whose motto proclaims "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night" will keep them from their routes, sometimes a Southern visit is thwarted by a rising creek or other unexpected bump in the road. 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. What better way to sweeten the sour than with a classic Southern libation? DeSantis ends Disney's free reign over Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. 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. I was reading a post on one of the West Virginia pages that I follow in which a person referenced God willing and the creeks dont rise. in reference to rain and floods. The catchphrase itself was associated with Hank Williams. 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. It was bad as all get out. A search for the word rise does not produce this phrase, so it appears that the body of water theory was correct after all. 4.5 stars! If you hear this one, it's best to slow down. And that is the highest praise from me. 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. 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. Just wait till you see what Granny Gladys does..with a bit of help from Mother Nature..hehehe. We do our best to keep our promises, but sometimes unforeseen circumstances come up. Southerners tell it like it isno matter what it isso think of this as a learning moment. Page created 25 Feb. 2012, Problems viewing this page? Firsts, Mines, Asks. But in following verses the rhyme changes through "creeks don't rise", "creek stay low", back to "creeks don't rise". The History And Traditions That Make Hanukkah Light Up, Examples Of Ableist Language You May Not Realize Youre Using, Winter 2023 New Words: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, Fall In Love With 14 Captivating Valentines Day Words, Rizz And 7 Other Slang Trends That Explain The Internet In 2023, Win With Qi And This List Of Our Best Scrabble Words, We Had ChatGPT Coin Nonsense PhrasesAnd Then We Defined Them, Surprise! 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. A true Southern tradition. And I mean took me there! The doin hasnt been done yet. 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. While this phrase may sound made up, it's simply our multisyllabic manner of saying something is askew. No, we don't mean you need to go fix your hair. Dont worry, if youre helping a friend make groceries, youre not expected to create food from scratch. Leah Weiss introduces her extraordinary characters as chapters unfold and each one has their own peculiarity. We've had a lot of delays, but God willing and the creek don't rise, we should have the house finished before winter. As I was in a museum, I felt confident in repeating the knowledge to others as fact. 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. However, if you're from the South, you know that sometimes there's just no other way to get your point across. Ireckon is the way many Southerners get to surmising about something or other. The General replied to Stonewall Jackson that he would send troops "the Good Lord is willing and the Creeks don't rise (in rebellion). I'm fixin' to tell you that this phrase is as Southern as sweet tea. 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. 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. But, what we do know is English once used you and ye strictly to address a group of people. And of course, there's nothing prettier than a warm summer day picking peaches in the sunshine. Which means if nothing crazy happens or anything out my control such as a natural disaster. on, This page was last edited on 22 January 2022, at 17:42. A very young, newly married pregnant woman, she vows her no good moonshining husband has beaten her for the last time. She captures the whole Appalachian scene - the vocabulary, the falling down houses, the likker, the poverty. 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. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. "Creek" originated as a reference to creeks flooding and preventing travel, but is sometimes re-interpreted as a reference to the Creek tribe. Wheres my blasted phone?. Take a look here Michael: http://www.genealogynation.com/creek/. You will have spotted that neither of these capitalises creek, which suggests they didnt have the Creek people in mind. A handful of rivers and streams will be out of their banks by Friday evening and Saturday morning. 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. 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. 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 most interesting often hail from our older generations, such as the WWII era and those raised by them. Neither provides any documentation: http://pub122.ezboard.com/fwordoriginsorgfrm2.showMessage?topicID=191.topic, http://members.aol.com/MorelandC/HaveOriginsData.htm#LordWillingAndTheCreek. An odd few (6% of Americans) do use soft drink, according to the Pop vs. The clipping below from 1892 is a reference to flooding waterways not allowing the postmaster to get to his office. The exact tranlation might be, 'If God is willing, and there isn't a flood that would prevent us from meeting again next week'. What in tarnation? You may still hear it if you stop into a country store. 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. In fact, Georgia and South Carolina produce more peaches than any other states in the South. If you just heard your mama come home and you haven't finished your chores, she will definitely be "madder than a wet hen." "The Good Lord willing and the 'creek' don't rise" is just one of them. 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. This is a high compliment in the South, since Southern states are known for their peaches. Youd be in a real fix then. When you're fixin' to do something, it's going to happen, but you also may decide to take your sweet time. But today Ive stumbled across the claim that it refers to an uprising by the Creek (or Cree) Indians. What is the origin of the phrase the good Lord willing and the creek dont rise? 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. Well, at least we thought we did.but maybe not. 'Cause everything's fine, God, I wish it were . Given that many small farm streams were crossed without bridges, which worked find most of the time, a swollen stream would cause problems. Accents vary by regionand sometimes even city to city. This was a Traveling Sister Read with Brenda, Sarah, Jennifer and Porshajo. The dialect is obscure and living conditions primitive with a feel more like the 1870's than the 1970's..so backward..so uncivilized..the men so brutal and lawless, and for Sadie Blue, life seems grave. Kicked in the gut and sucker punched with one of the best books I have ever read. If we relied on written sources it would be hard to believe in such continued use. 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. Hardy citizens awoken by first responders urging evacuation, Lawsuit filed against Summit Utilities over price gouging, 2023 2A State Basketball Tournament: EPC boys fall to Marshall in Quarterfinals, 2023 2A State Basketball Tournament: Bay boys fall to Bigelow in Quarterfinals, Arkansas State womens basketball falls to Southern Miss in SBC Quarterfinals, Arkansas women's basketball falls to #1 South Carolina in SEC Tournament, Fast Break Friday Night (3/3/23): Jonesboro boys advance to 6A state semifinals. Learn how your comment data is processed. For instance, I might promise to show up for Christmas at Grandmas if the good Lords willing and the creek dont rise. Apparently Carter had a great many pills, because the phrase found its way into the Southern vocabulary. Over yonder toward the water tower. 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 yes, they roll their eyes, too. It may take the form of real or mock dialect, in variations like " Lor' willin' an' th' crick don' rise.". Maya Rodale is a best-selling romance author. In his response, he was said to write, "God willing and the Creek don't rise." There is a lot of controversy about this fairly common folk saying. The expression "the creek don't rise" is an American slang expression implying strong intentions subject to complete frustration by uncommon but not unforeseeable events. A sister who is afraid of losing her brother and Sadie's grandmother and aunt, all tell their stories adding to Sadie's own. 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. If you refer to itno matter the brand or flavoras Coke, chances are you grew up in the South. There is no reason to suppose the Indian variant is true. Charles Wilson said the flood waters are something he has to live with to enjoy residing on the river. 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. Phrase [ edit] Lord willing and the creek don't rise ( idiomatic, US, informal) Barring unforeseen circumstances. No bigger than a minnow in a fishing pond is as tiny as can be. The Lafayette gazette(Louisiana), 3 Nov. 1894. Ain't got no dog in that race. "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." As they returned home, some of them also killed some settlers in the Ohio valley. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. My officers and fire department, we went along the river houses and notified everybody and recommended evacuation, said Hardy Police Chief Scott Rose. Speaking ofI declare, this now old-fashioned phrase acts as flustered response to an insult or an unbelievable story about someone who sadly made it into the rumor mill. 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. 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. I see some folks walk easy and carry peace on their shoulders, but I been chained to a iron life." Leah Weiss, If the Creek Don't Rise 3 likes Like Curiously, this word might have roots in offbeat British humor from the 1840s. This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 01:18. And yes, they roll their eyes, too. Theres two or three creeks, he said. Not one shred of evidence is a clear invitation to fault the writer. 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!. It's a more conditional statement of intent than come hell or high water. Its a more conditional statement of intent than come hell or high water. The approximately 20,000 Creek Indians that still exist reside in Oklahoma. 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. Somehow, the word went full circle and is now considered a distinctly Southern invention. 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. Settle in, because whatever we're talking about is going to take all day. Someone reminded me not to be reminded of you. Translated, this means: "We'll be there unless something out of our control stops us." document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Quick, what do you call a soft drink? (LogOut/ If the Creek Don't Rise. Note that the Creek Nation(s) did not "rise" at all. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington.