He would tell the audience that we would meet again, "If the good Lord's willin', and the creek don't rise". Well, at least we thought we did.but maybe not. If you think you can't, you won't be able to accomplish something, but if you think you can, you'll succeed. If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise - Wikipedia In fact, virtually all the examples that Ive found in books and newspaper archives down to the present day are in lower-case. If the Creek Don't Rise Quotes Showing 1-14 of 14 "Times like these I wonder if I ever been happy. Older than Methuselah. He told us about a young man who had been in the museum some weeks previous. I will continue to look for references to this phrase origin and would welcome discussion to prove (one way or the other) what the original author intended to mean. Im not going to wrestle with historians and their Creek uprising story. Lately, though, I have learned to wince quickly and let it go. Is It Called Presidents Day Or Washingtons Birthday? But, in the South, if your boss says that dog wont hunt in a meeting, it probably means your suggestion or idea needs improvement. A rising creek could spell trouble, as it can lead to flooding and other issues. That means whatever you're talking about is worth less than very little. 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. Feller-citizens Im not customed to public speakin before sich highfalutin audiences. "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]. Its a one-size-fits-all reply that can both express sympathy and insult someone, depending on the delivery. Farmers know that if you do something 'til the cows come home, it's going to take all day. A preacher who hires a very different kind of woman than is usually found in these parts. 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. A: "Do you reckon we'll have enough from this harvest to make ends meet?" A strikingly sincere portrait of a town and its buried secrets from an outstanding new voice in southern fiction. Copyright Michael Quinion, 1996. Theres probably a connection between eternal damnation and tarnation. "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 General replied to Stonewall Jackson that he would send troops "the Good Lord is willing and the Creeks don't rise (in rebellion). 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. Quick, what do you call a soft drink? Dylan LeBlanc - If The Creek Don't Rise Lyrics | Genius Lyrics There is no reason to suppose the Indian variant is true. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. 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. This is a high compliment in the South, since Southern states are known for their peaches. 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. 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. 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? However, if you're from the South, you know that sometimes there's just no other way to get your point across. "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." 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. I was going to ask him why, but I had to shoot him. To understand Hawkins, I read a little further into his history. There's two or three creeks," he said. "Come Hell or high water" vs "Lord willing and 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. The Lafayette gazette (Louisiana), 3 Nov. 1894. 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. Can't Never Could. Georgia-born blogger Jennifer Collins says she always rolled her eyes when her mom said this to her. While there, we happened upon a museum dedicated to the Underground Railroad. HARDY, Ark. If you've just had a big Southern lunch, complete with cornbread, collard greens, and pecan pie, you're definitely full as a tick. I grew up with that saying and Ive said it more times than I can count. (Im terrible about reading usernames as I scan threads, and I completely missed who had contributed that comment.). Cookies and privacy And, when the doins been done, the feller done did it. It was a big old chunk of a book, so only a couple of the kids including myself read it. In Gone With the Wind, Scarlett OHara says: I do declare, Frank Kennedy, if you dont look dashing with that new set of whiskers!. It is a quintessential Southern phrase, said by friends and family on porches and in rocking chairs all across the South. When I was growing up, this was something we said all of the time. 'If The Creek Don't Rise' Traces Webs Of Hurt And Help : NPR by Leah Weiss. 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. I was just hoping for something more concrete about the real origin. 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). Positive thinking, Southern style. It is a physical and mental state a few degrees past weary and just this side of dog-tired. This article about the English language is a stub. In the Deep South? 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. As was the case with Dr Mattox, the remark is routinely attributed to first being said by Benjamin Hawkins. 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. Just wait till you see what Granny Gladys does..with a bit of help from Mother Nature..hehehe. A young woman goes missing and has the town both fearful and wondering. An odd few (6% of Americans) do use soft drink, according to the Pop vs. Your email address will not be published. Oh, how I loved this story - I simply didnt want it to end! 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!. The earliest example known is this mock rustic speech: 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. 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! False folk etymology. However, this is clearly one of those evolving language cases. Like trying to meet a friend for lunch but having the car breakdown on the way. 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 As I was in a museum, I felt confident in repeating the knowledge to others as fact. 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. This was the phrase that he always used, at the end of each performance. World Wide Words is copyright Michael Quinion, 1996. I've been in a slump of just ok books and was craving one that was special. 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. Anecdotal evidence from people who have got in touch with me down the years suggests that it has been in regular use throughout the lifetimes of some elderly folk in parts of the US, either in the form you give or as the good Lord willing and the creek dont rise. Have you ever seen a wet hen? History: God Willing And The Creek Dont Rise Actually this is not proven. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. When you've met the girl of your dreams, chances are she is "pretty as a peach." Im a longtime admirer of your calm demeanor and encyclopedic knowledge. In response to a request that he return to Washington D.C., he wrote, "God willing and the Creek don't rise." As they returned home, some of them also killed some settlers in the Ohio valley. Who better to write about the risks of the Creek rising in revolt? In the 1900s, the word evolved, taking on a Southern spin as well as new meanings such as "courage" and "get-up-and-go.". Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review. This was a Traveling Sister Read with Brenda, Sarah, Jennifer and Porshajo. 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. Youre still going to the grocery store. Marty Stuart places the words "If the Good Lord's willin' and the creek don't rise, we'll see you in the mornin'." Baines Creek, high up in the Appalachian mountain, a poor place filled with impoverished people, a place where moonshine is king. 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. It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. I am usually among those who bristle at change in usage. Every researcher who has investigated the expression has dismissed an Indian connection as untrue. 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! Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll have that new barn finished in time for the harvest. Origin debaters point to Col. Benjamin Hawkins of North Carolina, a Continental Congress senator. The most interesting often hail from our older generations, such as the WWII era and those raised by them. It mentions . The Lafayette gazette(Louisiana), 3 Nov. 1894. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. If you've ever been caught in a summer storm, you know that you can feel, smell, and see a storm blowin' up across the wide Southern skies. 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. The tale is widely reproduced and believed nevertheless. 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.. Now, she admits to saying this to her children. During the course of his 21 years in these positions he would oversee the longest period of peace with theCreek, only to watch his lifetime of work destroyed by a faction of this Indian Nation known as the Red Sticks during the War of 1812. My officers and fire department, we went along the river houses and notified everybody and recommended evacuation, said Hardy Police Chief Scott Rose. Grahams American Monthly Magazine, Jun. Because that is supposedly how the original author first wrote it. the creek don't rise. Settle in, because whatever we're talking about is going to take all day. 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. It was so enjoyable and fun reading and discussing the book with them. "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." When the road looks rough ahead, remember the 'Man upstairs'. 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. In fact, Georgia and South Carolina produce more peaches than any other states in the South. All the ones I know from growin up : r/ShitSouthernersSay 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. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. Its typically used to describe a situation thats gone askew, awry, or out of alignment. 133 Copy quote. The catchphrase itself was associated with Hank Williams.
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if the creek don't rise saying