Its typically used to describe a situation thats gone askew, awry, or out of alignment. The states involved sent Hawkins,Andrew Pickens(South Carolina), Joseph Martin (Georgia) andLachlan McIntosh(Continental representative, Georgia) to negotiate a treaty to end the fighting. 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 Because he capitalized Creek its asserted that he was referring to the Creek Indian tribe and not a body of water. That means whatever you're talking about is worth less than very little. It completely nailed the "mountain living" that I remembered my grandmother talking about. Lord willing and the creek don't rise - Wiktionary The request was to a general that had troops near Horseshoe Bend Alabama, protecting settlers against a Creek Indian uprising. Now, she admits to saying this to her children. The phrase "God willing." - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange 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. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. He told us about a young man who had been in the museum some weeks previous. 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. 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. Poor little doggy. 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. Funny Phrases ben stanczyk 10/25/01 Change). (Or maybe the Piggly Wiggly, a Southern market chain that originated in Memphis, Tennessee). Grandma might whisper this one over her hymnal if she sees you cutting up in church on Sunday morning. Whatscatawampus? PS A belated congratulations on your appointment as moderator, Tom. No bigger than a minnow in a fishing pond is as tiny as can be. If youre not using this phrase what are you waiting for? The doin hasnt been done yet. According to World Wide Words, when asked if it meant Creek Indians, their expert responded with: Quite certainly not. 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.. Someone once said that when you visit the South, you need a translator. Many thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the ARC in return for an unbiased review. (LogOut/ This phrase isn't about physical appearance. It seems this saying is a favorite expression of country singers. Page created 25 Feb. 2012, Problems viewing this page? If we relied on written sources it would be hard to believe in such continued use. A true Southern tradition. 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. It is a quintessential Southern phrase, said by friends and family on porches and in rocking chairs all across the South. If The Creek Don't Rise Lately, though, I have learned to wince quickly and let it go. Maya Rodale is a best-selling romance author. 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. 1851. Yes, I had heard of the Appalachians and how the culture spreads along those mountains over more than a dozen States. Cant never could is a reminder that if you dont even try, you wont ever accomplish your goal. 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. God willing and the creek don't rise - TheFreeDictionary.com (LogOut/ A friend of mine told me to shoot first and ask questions later. There, we listened to amazing stories told by Dr. John Mattox. 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. The earliest example known is this mock rustic speech: Feller-citizens Im not customed to public speakin before sich highfalutin audiences. 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. The word you use for a fizzy, carbonated drink reveals a lot more about you than you know. And, good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, come March of next year, I'll be 225 years old. It seems this saying is a favorite expression of country singers. Catawampus(or, cattywampus) may have been popularized by Brits who delighted in parodying Southern vernacular. This string of double negatives is actually meant as encouragement! 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. It's a more conditional statement of intent than come hell or high water. If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise - Wikipedia 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. 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. 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. Grahams American Monthly Magazine, Jun. 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 physical and mental state a few degrees past weary and just this side of dog-tired. Quick, what do you call a soft drink? And, when the doins been done, the feller done did it. When a fellers fixin to do something, theyre about to do it. "Come Hell or high water" vs "Lord willing and the creek don't rise" I have even heard the accents and many of the stories from various artists who escaped the confines of this culture and were successful in attaining fame and fortune for themselves. 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. Settle in, because whatever we're talking about is going to take all day. Its a one-size-fits-all reply that can both express sympathy and insult someone, depending on the delivery. History: God Willing And The Creek Dont Rise For instance if someone invites you to church on Sunday, you would respond "I'll be there with bells on God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise.". the creek don't rise. Translated, it means, "He sure does think a lot of himself." 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. Take a look at some of our favorite Southern sayings that we just couldn't live without. DeSantis ends Disney's free reign over Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. by Leah Weiss. 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. Take a look here Michael: http://www.genealogynation.com/creek/. and the word HOPE. All rights reserved. DeSantis's year-long quest to strip Disney of its self-rule came after the entertainment giant, and Florida's . The Problem with Saying, "Lord Willing and the Creek Don't Rise" The expression make groceries is a translation of the French faire son march (to do ones market shopping). 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. 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. This Southern saying, God 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! 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. All rights reserved.This page URL: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-god1.htmLast modified: 25 February 2012. It's raining cats and dogs. And yes, they roll their eyes, too. God willing and the creek don't rise If all goes as it should; if everything goes well. Lyndon Johnsons wife Lady Bird was fond of the phrase, and she wasnt one to cast aspersions on native Americans. 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.". Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise - phrase meaning and origin And that is the highest praise from me. Marty Stuart places the words "If the Good Lord's willin' and the creek don't rise, we'll see you in the mornin'." "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 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. God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise - Southern Love 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. Disney lost control of its Florida kingdom for opposing the "Don't Say Be it Gods will, or, we go to war, my plans will go according to one of those two choices. All the ones I know from growin up : r/ShitSouthernersSay I absolutely loved the southern voice of these characters throughout this book. It was so enjoyable and fun reading and discussing the book with them. The Lafayette gazette(Louisiana), 3 Nov. 1894. It happens often during a Southern summer, when the heat rises and the temperatures shoot past 100. The 1800s and 1900s were much simpler times, as people didn't have the luxuries afforded in modern times. "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." Kicked in the gut and sucker punched with one of the best books I have ever read. 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. 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. What better way to sweeten the sour than with a classic Southern libation? A Quite certainly not. In the South, a hill of beans is its own measuring stick. Southerners tell it like it isno matter what it isso think of this as a learning moment. 25 Southern Grandparents' Sayings That Deserve a Comeback, Forgotten Etiquette Every Child Should Learn, Kimberly Schlapman and Her Family's Tea Cakes, Lauren Alaina Talks 'American Idol', Southern Manners, and Her Grandmother's Famous Recipe, 30 Quotes That Remind Us Why Southern Manners Are So Important. I agree that the Indian origin sounds unlikely. 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? Most of the ones on paved roads had bridges or culverts by that time, but not all of them and everyone still clearly knew what that saying meant even if the threat wasnt very real anymore. !, Reckon has ancestry tracing all the way back to the 1000s (and maybe older still), and originally means to count, calculate.. If you think you can't, you won't be able to accomplish something, but if you think you can, you'll succeed. Pot callin the kettle black. While this phrase may sound made up, it's simply our multisyllabic manner of saying something is askew. Firsts, Mines, Asks. Im told it was a sign-off tag line of the 1930s US radio broadcaster Bradley Kincaid. 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. Johnny Cash had a hit with the song If The Good Lords Willing, and Hank Williams Jr. titled his song If the Good Lords Willin (And The Creeks Dont Rise).. 'Creek don't rise' is a phrase with possibly more than one meaning 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. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Positive thinking, Southern style. I was surprised as all get out. If you refer to itno matter the brand or flavoras Coke, chances are you grew up in the South. Unarguable Southern criticism. 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. You Cant Use These English Words In The UK, Understanding Black History: 10 Terms That Illuminate The Black Experience In The US. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. It's a vivid phrase, and it's an accurate one too. Jan 29, 2014 at 19:34 . Historians and etymologists may cringe, but the modern usage of Lord willin and the creek (or crick) dont rise is about the stream, not the Creek tribe. So the saying came about like we'll be there.God willing and the Creek (indians) don't rise..to stop us. Well, I found it. Its worth looking into because of the way in which it has been elaborated in the version you quote. I grew up with that saying and Ive said it more times than I can count. 'Cause everything's fine, God, I wish it were . Thats a mouthful, but we lumped these all together because they are allsubstitutes for (God) d*mn it. Maybe not all dogs were made for hunting some prefer the warmth of a fireplace and the comfort of your lap. Synonyms [ edit] (barring unforeseen circumstances): God willing, Lord willing Translations [ edit] show phrase References [ edit] It's often said in a reassuring way, to calm people down and encourage them to keep on trying. If the Creek Don't Rise Quotes by Leah Weiss - Goodreads If you find only minnows, though, they look even smaller compared to the heavy catch you hoped for. Have you ever seen a wet hen? 40 OLD PHRASES AND SAYINGS - Grammy's Grid Every researcher who has investigated the expression has dismissed an Indian connection as untrue. 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. 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. 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. We didnt. Im a longtime admirer of your calm demeanor and encyclopedic knowledge. 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. But today Ive stumbled across the claim that it refers to an uprising by the Creek (or Cree) Indians. IF THE CREEK DON'T RISE is character driven and one fine gritty and entertaining debut with one fine satisfying ending!