Share. It happens often during a Southern summer, when the heat rises and the temperatures shoot past 100. 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. The General replied to Stonewall Jackson that he would send troops "the Good Lord is willing and the Creeks don't rise (in rebellion). A: "Do you reckon we'll have enough from this harvest to make ends meet?" B: "God willing and the creek don't rise." And that is the highest praise from me. But today Ive stumbled across the claim that it refers to an uprising by the Creek (or Cree) Indians. DeSantis's year-long quest to strip Disney of its self-rule came after the entertainment giant, and Florida's . The Lafayette gazette(Louisiana), 3 Nov. 1894. The catchphrase itself was associated with Hank Williams. 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!! Oh, if the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise. Only 15 days into her marriage to Roy Tupkin and Sadie Blue is already . 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. If youre not using this phrase what are you waiting for? 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. Translated, it means, "He sure does think a lot of himself." 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. In fact, virtually all the examples that Ive found in books and newspaper archives down to the present day are in lower-case. In response to a request that he return to Washington D.C., he wrote, "God willing and the Creek don't rise." 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. This phrase can be intensified by the addition of the word "way," as in "way over yonder.". A Quite certainly not. Neither provides any documentation: http://pub122.ezboard.com/fwordoriginsorgfrm2.showMessage?topicID=191.topic, http://members.aol.com/MorelandC/HaveOriginsData.htm#LordWillingAndTheCreek. 4.5 stars! The underscore of that sentiment would be that he married his common-law wife on his deathbed and she was of the Creek Indians. Some say it originated with the Scottish-Irish term ye aw. On his deathbed he married the Creek woman who had been his common-law wife. If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise, If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise, Good Lord's Willin and The Creek Don't Rise, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_creek_don%27t_rise&oldid=1136534691, This page was last edited on 30 January 2023, at 20:39. 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. Do You Know These Sizzlin Southern Sayings. A true Southern tradition. Ain't got no dog in that race. Because that is supposedly how the original author first wrote it. When the road looks rough ahead, remember the 'Man upstairs'. There is no typical Southern accent. As I was in a museum, I felt confident in repeating the knowledge to others as fact. If you're trying to be nice, but you just can't quite let it go, "bless your heart" is a go-to. Thats a mouthful, but we lumped these all together because they are allsubstitutes for (God) d*mn it. It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. From the start there's been a film of dingy on my days.. They had a conversation in which the phrase was discussed and noted as being about the Creek Indians. Paperback, 305 pages. If you just heard your mama come home and you haven't finished your chores, she will definitely be "madder than a wet hen." What is the origin of the phrase the good Lord willing and the creek dont rise? Pot callin the kettle black. 133 Copy quote. I first heard of the notion of creek meaning Creek on a camping trip a couple of years ago at Barkcamp State Park in the area of Wheeling, WV. In the Deep South? You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. But we declareif your only knowledge of Southern sayings comes fromGone With the Wind, youre missing out on a lot of Southern expressions. It completely nailed the "mountain living" that I remembered my grandmother talking about. I absolutely loved the southern voice of these characters throughout this book. 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. When you've met the girl of your dreams, chances are she is "pretty as a peach." It was bad as all get out. Youll thank us later! 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. 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 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. A friend of mine told me to shoot first and ask questions later. (I would not be surprised to discover that the last contributor on your first link is none other than our own samclem.). "Like all great southern. Georgia-born blogger Jennifer Collins says she always rolled her eyes when her mom said this to her. Kicked in the gut and sucker punched with one of the best books I have ever read. You dont know whats underneath that water, Rose said. You will have spotted that neither of these capitalises creek, which suggests they didnt have the Creek people in mind. They were both corrected by a good soul who told them that Creek, for the purposes of this phrases origin, meant Creek Indian. It seems this saying is a favorite expression of country singers. In Gone With the Wind, Scarlett OHara says: I do declare, Frank Kennedy, if you dont look dashing with that new set of whiskers!. 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. It can be deployed sincerely, but if you're hearing "bless your heart" in the South, it probably has an edge to it. It may take the form of real or mock dialect, in variations like " Lor' willin' an' th' crick don' rise.". You'll most often hear it coming out of Mama's mouth when the kids are running amok. 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. (KAIT) - Its been a busy 24 hours for first responders in Sharp County. Wheres my blasted phone?. 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. It mentions . 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. 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. In fact, Georgia and South Carolina produce more peaches than any other states in the South. Dont worry, if youre helping a friend make groceries, youre not expected to create food from scratch. 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!. There's two or three creeks," he said. Unarguable Southern criticism. Affixes dictionary. Soda web site devoted to this age-old debate. Leah Weiss introduces her extraordinary characters as chapters unfold and each one has their own peculiarity. I grew up with that saying and Ive said it more times than I can count. Now, she admits to saying this to her children. 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. But, what we do know is English once used you and ye strictly to address a group of people. The second contributor on the AOL site is simply repeating things without any understanding. the creek don't rise. 15. Curiously, this word might have roots in offbeat British humor from the 1840s. Copyright Michael Quinion, 1996. I always took it as a reference to the level of water in a creek. In his experience, it doesnt take much for local creeks and streams to cause trouble. 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. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled, origin of phrase - "if the creek don't rise". The "creek don't rise" phrase is now sometimes credited to this time of unrest and displacement. I ate that up with a spoon and did my best to read them all. No bigger than a minnow in a fishing pond is as tiny as can be. A search for the word rise does not produce this phrase, so it appears that the body of water theory was correct after all. The catchphrase itself was associated with Hank Williams. 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. Other words sites Following that treaty John Siever formed the state of Franklin from land previously claimed by North Carolina but never ceded by the Indian tribes. A handful of rivers and streams will be out of their banks by Friday evening and Saturday morning. The most interesting often hail from our older generations, such as the WWII era and those raised by them. PS A belated congratulations on your appointment as moderator, Tom. 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. Now, she admits to saying this to her children. Its not a recent change. Anything to the degree of "all get out" is something to talk about. Whatscatawampus? Learn how your comment data is processed. However, if you're from the South, you know that sometimes there's just no other way to get your point across. Hawkins served under George Washington as General Superintendent for Indian Affairs (17961818) and had responsibility for the Native American tribes south of the Ohio River, and was principal Indian agent to the Creek Indians. And yes, I have heard the music of this culture and watched the dancing. Come visit me at LeahWeiss.com where you can subscribe to my CREEKRISE author news. This is a point of emphasis and exclamation that often ends without any additional telling at all. Somehow, the word went full circle and is now considered a distinctly Southern invention. Phrase [ edit] Lord willing and the creek don't rise ( idiomatic, US, informal) Barring unforeseen circumstances. Ireckon is the way many Southerners get to surmising about something or other. 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. And really, wouldn't we all druther have our druthers? It's raining cats and dogs. This means that if everything continues to plan, things will be okay. Theres probably a connection between eternal damnation and tarnation. The request was to a general that had troops near Horseshoe Bend Alabama, protecting settlers against a Creek Indian uprising. 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. "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." If you find only minnows, though, they look even smaller compared to the heavy catch you hoped for. To understand Hawkins, I read a little further into his history. 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. 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. World Wide Words tries to record at least a part of this shifting wordscape by featuring new words, word histories, words in the news, and the curiosities of native English speech. Charles Wilson said the flood waters are something he has to live with to enjoy residing on the river. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. (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.). 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.. Be it Gods will, or, we go to war, my plans will go according to one of those two choices. While there, we happened upon a museum dedicated to the Underground Railroad. 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. The earliest example known is this mock rustic speech: Feller-citizens Im not customed to public speakin before sich highfalutin audiences. It was set in the Ozark mountains featuring what some people called a witch. The thing isI read one that I have never stopped thinking about. (Im terrible about reading usernames as I scan threads, and I completely missed who had contributed that comment.). 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. [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.
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