if the creek don't rise saying

"If the creek don't rise" is a slang phrase predominantly used in the Southeastern United States and can translate to "if all goes well." It's a more conditional action statement than the famous phrase "come hell or high water." Well, hells bells. Your first citation is much stronger than your second. Like trying to meet a friend for lunch but having the car breakdown on the way. In the South, a hill of beans is its own measuring stick. 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. If the Creek rose, Hawkins would have to be present to quell the rebellion. writes one commentator.. Im not going to wrestle with historians and their Creek uprising story. Its worth looking into because of the way in which it has been elaborated in the version you quote.. 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. Doh! Neither provides any documentation: http://pub122.ezboard.com/fwordoriginsorgfrm2.showMessage?topicID=191.topic, http://members.aol.com/MorelandC/HaveOriginsData.htm#LordWillingAndTheCreek. Following that treaty John Siever formed the state of Franklin from land previously claimed by North Carolina but never ceded by the Indian tribes. It's a vivid phrase, and it's an accurate one too. 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. 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. 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. 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 someone tells you that you've got gumption, you should thank them, and then walk a little taller, because you've received a lovely Southern compliment. 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. I'm fixin' to tell you that this phrase is as Southern as sweet tea. Curiously, this word might have roots in offbeat British humor from the 1840s. Some newspaper clippings are harder to determine which meaning they meant. in Williams' mouth in his tribute album Hillbilly Heaven. Southern Slang: If The Creek Don't Rise | What does it mean? | Ask A Georgia-born blogger Jennifer Collins says she always rolled her eyes when her mom said this to her. (Or maybe the Piggly Wiggly, a Southern market chain that originated in Memphis, Tennessee). 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. We've had a lot of delays, but Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we should have the house finished before winter. 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. It's raining cats and dogs. Therefore if the Lord is willing and the Creek don't rise up and start up another uprising or battle, we will be able complete what ever it is we intend to do. 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.. This was the phrase that he always used, at the end of each performance. 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. "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 Any of you word experts have solid information? (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.). The most interesting often hail from our older generations, such as the WWII era and those raised by them. 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. A preacher who hires a very different kind of woman than is usually found in these parts. 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. Disney lost control of its Florida kingdom for opposing the "Don't Say 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. Only 15 days into her marriage to Roy Tupkin and Sadie Blue is already . What Grandma says when you pull in the driveway, pop out of the car, and come running. As they returned home, some of them also killed some settlers in the Ohio valley. Tensions between settlers and both tribes had been rising following the Treaty of Augusta and the land cessions of 1782-1783. Who better to write about the risks of the Creek rising in revolt? A young woman goes missing and has the town both fearful and wondering. 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. 'Creek don't rise' is a phrase with possibly more than one meaning Yelling out this humorous backronym for sh*tmight just tame the anger a bit. 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. She captures the whole Appalachian scene - the vocabulary, the falling down houses, the likker, the poverty. 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. 40 OLD PHRASES AND SAYINGS - Grammy's Grid I am usually among those who bristle at change in usage. The tale is widely reproduced and believed nevertheless. Do You Know These Sizzlin' Southern Sayings? - Dictionary.com 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!! 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. When I was growing up, this was something we said all of the time. Someone reminded me not to be reminded of you. "He broke bout every piece of sweet in you. He was a politician and Indian agent. Andrew Jackson sent a request for reinforcements before the Battle Of New Orleans. Over yonder toward the water tower. 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. Page created 25 Feb. 2012, Problems viewing this page? This is a point of emphasis and exclamation that often ends without any additional telling at all. (the good) Lord willing and the creek don't rise - TheFreeDictionary.com In his experience, it doesnt take much for local creeks and streams to cause trouble. Threats not only from abroad, but internally as well, forced the fledgling nation to negotiate treaties with the tribes on the western frontier. This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 01:18. Given that many small farm streams were crossed without bridges, which worked find most of the time, a swollen stream would cause problems. Well, I found it. And that is the highest praise from me. The Lafayette gazette(Louisiana), 3 Nov. 1894. My officers and fire department, we went along the river houses and notified everybody and recommended evacuation, said Hardy Police Chief Scott Rose. Not one shred of evidence is a clear invitation to fault the writer. 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). But, what we do know is English once used you and ye strictly to address a group of people. Her grandmother Gladys tells us of her awful past ridden with the drunkenness and senseless abuse. Lately, though, I have learned to wince quickly and let it go. 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. Jan 29, 2014 at 19:34 . The story of Benjamin Hawkins relationship with the Creek,Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians goes back to 1786, when America was working on solidifying its hold on the new nation. The word you use for a fizzy, carbonated drink reveals a lot more about you than you know. 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!. Hardy citizens awoken by first responders urging evacuation At the same time there is some evidence that the creation of Fort Deposit (Fort Deposite) in Georgia was a cause of concern in that munitions and arms were stockpiled. A rising creek could spell trouble, as it can lead to flooding and other issues. 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. In response to a request that he return to Washington D.C., he wrote, "God willing and the Creek don't rise." 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. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Take a look here Michael: http://www.genealogynation.com/creek/. 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. Now, she admits to saying this to her children. But I know of just four instances from that century. 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. Many thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the ARC in return for an unbiased review. 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. Positive thinking, Southern style. 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. Every researcher who has investigated the expression has dismissed an Indian connection as untrue. Region 8 News on Twitter: ""You've heard that old saying, 'I'll be If you use this phrase, you could be declaring any number of things: surprise, dissent, happiness. 'If The Creek Don't Rise' Traces Webs Of Hurt And Help : NPR Be it Gods will, or, we go to war, my plans will go according to one of those two choices. 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. "Come Hell or high water" vs "Lord willing and the creek don't rise" Whatscatawampus? To cover your bases you might say, "I'll see you then if the creek don't rise." If the Creek Don't Rise Quotes Showing 1-14 of 14 "Times like these I wonder if I ever been happy. In Gone With the Wind, Scarlett OHara says: I do declare, Frank Kennedy, if you dont look dashing with that new set of whiskers!. What is the origin of the phrase the good Lord willing and the creek dont rise? A strikingly sincere portrait of a town and its buried secrets from an outstanding new voice in southern fiction. Though youre likely to hear Southernisms such as. Theres no better zinger than a bless your heart delivered in a condescending tone of voice that implies, as the Southern Decoder puts it, youre dumb, homely, or otherwise impaired, but you cant help it.Go ahead and practice it in the mirror a few times. Its a more conditional statement of intent than come hell or high water. Some say it originated with the Scottish-Irish term ye aw. Change). IF THE CREEK DON'T RISE is character driven and one fine gritty and entertaining debut with one fine satisfying ending! and the word HOPE. Gumption is spirit, courage, spunk, boldness, and initiative. God willing and the creek don't rise If all goes as it should; if everything goes well. On his deathbed he married the Creek woman who had been his common-law wife. Copyright 2023 KAIT. That means whatever you're talking about is worth less than very little. 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. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. 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. Synonyms [ edit] (barring unforeseen circumstances): God willing, Lord willing Translations [ edit] show phrase References [ edit] DeSantis ends Disney's free reign over Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. Somehow, the word went full circle and is now considered a distinctly Southern invention. Oh, how I loved this story - I simply didnt want it to end! Southerners adopted this phrase wholeheartedly from its early usages in 1700s England and Scotland (where it meant "common sense"). If you think you can't, you won't be able to accomplish something, but if you think you can, you'll succeed. Accents vary by regionand sometimes even city to city. A: "Do you reckon we'll have enough from this harvest to make ends meet?" Take a look at some of our favorite Southern sayings that we just couldn't live without. All rights reserved. But, in the South, if your boss says that dog wont hunt in a meeting, it probably means your suggestion or idea needs improvement. 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. 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. Grahams American Monthly Magazine, Jun. If you think you can't, you won't be able to accomplish something, but if you think you can, you'll succeed. The second contributor on the AOL site is simply repeating things without any understanding. And, good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, come March of next year, I'll be 225 years old. TOP 25 QUOTES BY JOHN WAYNE (of 133) | A-Z Quotes If you've just had a big Southern lunch, complete with cornbread, collard greens, and pecan pie, you're definitely full as a tick. A handful of rivers and streams will be out of their banks by Friday evening and Saturday morning. An odd few (6% of Americans) do use soft drink, according to the Pop vs. "Like all great southern. Phrase [ edit] Lord willing and the creek don't rise ( idiomatic, US, informal) Barring unforeseen circumstances. Then theres a long gap in the record before it began to appear again in the 1950s. Do You Know These Sizzlin Southern Sayings. Chief Rose is asking drivers to be cautious while out and about. The phrase "God willing." - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange It may take the form of real or mock dialect, in variations like " Lor' willin' an' th' crick don' rise.". An exclamationof surprise, anger, happiness, really any emotionthat is appropriate in nearly every Southern scenario. Sentences With "Lord willing and the creek don't rise" | Random 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. 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. Can't Never Could. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. We do our best to keep our promises, but sometimes unforeseen circumstances come up. This was a Traveling Sister Read with Brenda, Sarah, Jennifer and Porshajo. "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. If the Creek Don't Rise is a collection of hard-used characters, tangled relationships, family angst, and fortitude. The expression is incorrectly attributed on modern social media[citation needed] to an Indian agent, Benjamin Hawkins, in the late 18th century in a rumored letter not found in any archive to the U.S. President. DeSantis's year-long quest to strip Disney of its self-rule came after the entertainment giant, and Florida's . This Southern saying, God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise. You dont know whats underneath that water, Rose said. 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. Firsts, Mines, Asks. 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. All rights reserved. It is a quintessential Southern phrase, said by friends and family on porches and in rocking chairs all across the South. Your email address will not be published. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. 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. This article about the English language is a stub. I've been in a slump of just ok books and was craving one that was special. It's true, we do have a mouthful of sayings that only Southerners understand. 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. Copyright Michael Quinion, 1996. 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. If you've read the book summary, you already know Sadie Blue lives with a devil of a man, but she's not the only one who has lived with a wife beater of a husband. (LogOut/ The English language is forever changing. 1851. It was a big old chunk of a book, so only a couple of the kids including myself read it. 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! origin of phrase - "if the creek don't rise" - Factual Questions Ain't got no dog in that race. 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.. [3] The capitalization of the word Creek supposedly referred to the Creek Indian tribe rather than a body of water.[4][5]. 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. It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. As was the case with Dr Mattox, the remark is routinely attributed to first being said by Benjamin Hawkins. And of course, there's nothing prettier than a warm summer day picking peaches in the sunshine. (LogOut/ You will have spotted that neither of these capitalises creek, which suggests they didnt have the Creek people in mind. If you just heard your mama come home and you haven't finished your chores, she will definitely be "madder than a wet hen." 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. Where did this contraction, popular in both African American English and Southern American English, come from? 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. It's a more conditional statement of intent than come hell or high water. 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. Over yonder past the cotton field. Funny Phrases ben stanczyk 10/25/01 (Im terrible about reading usernames as I scan threads, and I completely missed who had contributed that comment.). 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. He would tell the audience that we would meet again, "If the good Lord's willin', and the creek don't rise". World Wide Words is copyright Michael Quinion, 1996. 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. 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. If the Creek Don't Rise Quotes by Leah Weiss - Goodreads According to World Wide Words, when asked if it meant Creek Indians, their expert responded with: " Quite certainly not. If the good Lord's willin and the creek don't rise. Oh, if the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise. If the Creek Don't Rise|Paperback - Barnes & Noble 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. Donate via PayPal. If you're trying to be nice, but you just can't quite let it go, "bless your heart" is a go-to. Affixes dictionary. Ireckon is the way many Southerners get to surmising about something or other. "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." "Well I s'wanee" evokes the Southern Suwannee River. God willing and the creek don't rise - World Wide Words It was so enjoyable and fun reading and discussing the book with them. Whether you're talking about volume or value, a hill of beans isn't worth much. A search for the word rise does not produce this phrase, so it appears that the body of water theory was correct after all. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Select your currency from the list and click Donate. It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. The lyrics play on the expression Lord willing and the creek don't rise, which is thought to originate from Alabama. It seems this saying is a favorite expression of country singers. However, the first President to move to Washington was John Adams on 1 November 1800. It was bad as all get out. The distinct English dialect of the American South, which has a close relationship with Black English (African American Vernacular English), is fascinatingand plenty lively. Baines Creek, high up in the Appalachian mountain, a poor place filled with impoverished people, a place where moonshine is king. Which means if nothing crazy happens or anything out my control such as a natural disaster. If the Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss | Goodreads In fact, Georgia and South Carolina produce more peaches than any other states in the South. 'Cause everything's fine, God, I wish it were . Youd be in a real fix then. Im told it was a sign-off tag line of the 1930s US radio broadcaster Bradley Kincaid. It seems this saying is a favorite expression of country singers. Someone once said that when you visit the South, you need a translator. 50 of the Best Southern Sayings | Serving Up Southern Get help and learn more about the design. However, with the west in flames, both whites and Indians began organizing fighters. Now, she admits to saying this to her children. Because that is supposedly how the original author first wrote it. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. the creek don't rise " is an American slang expression implying strong intentions subject to complete frustration by uncommon but not unforeseeable events. 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. "All get out" finds its way into Southern phrases constantly, and it intensifies any statement. 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. There's two or three creeks," he said. The written record dates the saying from about the middle of the nineteenth century.