if the creek don't rise saying if the creek don't rise saying

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. 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. Like trying to meet a friend for lunch but having the car breakdown on the way. A strikingly sincere portrait of a town and its buried secrets from an outstanding new voice in southern fiction. Someone once said that when you visit the South, you need a translator. 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. "He broke bout every piece of sweet in you. 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. 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). Oh, if the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise. A Quite certainly not. Yes, I had heard of the Appalachians and how the culture spreads along those mountains over more than a dozen States. Paperback, 305 pages. All rights reserved. Eventually, you became a singular pronoun, and we lost the plural pronouns. In the 1900s, the word evolved, taking on a Southern spin as well as new meanings such as "courage" and "get-up-and-go.". 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. This Southern saying, God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise. What Grandma says when you pull in the driveway, pop out of the car, and come running. 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. The written record dates the saying from about the middle of the nineteenth century. Every researcher who has investigated the expression has dismissed an Indian connection as untrue. "Well I s'wanee" evokes the Southern Suwannee River. Jan 29, 2014 at 19:34 . is a common way to use this next Southern cussemism. It traces to the 1700s and is based on darnation, the mild form of damnation. No, we don't mean you need to go fix your hair. It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. Well, hells bells. A rising creek could spell trouble, as it can lead to flooding and other issues. According to World Wide Words, when asked if it meant Creek Indians, their expert responded with: Quite certainly not. Werefixin to tell you more Southernisms, and now were doing just that. Her grandmother Gladys tells us of her awful past ridden with the drunkenness and senseless abuse. And yes, they roll their eyes, too. Youd be in a real fix then. The doin hasnt been done yet. Weiss has spun me upside down in this backward county in the Appalachian mountains and made a southerner out of me. This book reminds me of that. An odd few (6% of Americans) do use soft drink, according to the Pop vs. It's a more conditional statement of intent than come hell or high water. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. 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. "If the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise.". The General replied to Stonewall Jackson that he would send troops "the Good Lord is willing and the Creeks don't rise (in rebellion). 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. Synonyms [ edit] (barring unforeseen circumstances): God willing, Lord willing Translations [ edit] show phrase References [ edit] Who better to write about the risks of the Creek rising in revolt? This string of double negatives is actually meant as encouragement! That means whatever you're talking about is worth less than very little. Given that many small farm streams were crossed without bridges, which worked find most of the time, a swollen stream would cause problems. To understand Hawkins, I read a little further into his history. He would tell the audience that we would meet again, "If the good Lord's willin', and the creek don't rise". By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. The proper phrase is Lord willing and the Creek don't rise. 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. A young woman goes missing and has the town both fearful and wondering. 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. It happens often during a Southern summer, when the heat rises and the temperatures shoot past 100. Curiously, this word might have roots in offbeat British humor from the 1840s. (Im terrible about reading usernames as I scan threads, and I completely missed who had contributed that comment.). 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. The earliest example known is this mock rustic speech: Feller-citizens Im not customed to public speakin before sich highfalutin audiences. 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. Select your currency from the list and click Donate. Then theres a long gap in the record before it began to appear again in the 1950s. The Lafayette gazette (Louisiana), 3 Nov. 1894. Change). 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. 1851. [3] The capitalization of the word Creek supposedly referred to the Creek Indian tribe rather than a body of water.[4][5]. They were both corrected by a good soul who told them that Creek, for the purposes of this phrases origin, meant Creek Indian. "If the Creek Don't Rise" We'll be there unless something out of our control stops us. It is a quintessential Southern phrase, said by friends and family on porches and in rocking chairs all across the South. Poor little doggy. Im told it was a sign-off tag line of the 1930s US radio broadcaster Bradley Kincaid. Now, she admits to saying this to her children. Where did this contraction, popular in both African American English and Southern American English, come from? It can be deployed sincerely, but if you're hearing "bless your heart" in the South, it probably has an edge to it. I agree that the Indian origin sounds unlikely. Leah Weiss introduces her extraordinary characters as chapters unfold and each one has their own peculiarity. 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. Wheres my blasted phone?. What in tarnation? Runnin around like a chicken with it's head . It is a physical and mental state a few degrees past weary and just this side of dog-tired. A handful of rivers and streams will be out of their banks by Friday evening and Saturday morning. "Lord willing and the creek don't rise" is a sort of backwoods phrase that has the same meaning, but is more folksy and less devoted. She's not looking for sweets; she wants a hug and a kiss. 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 When a fellers fixin to do something, theyre about to do it. A true Southern tradition. "Creek" originated as a reference to creeks flooding and preventing travel, but is sometimes re-interpreted as a reference to the Creek tribe. 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. Georgia-born blogger Jennifer Collins says she always rolled her eyes when her mom said this to her. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. 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.. When you're in the South, "over yonder" is a distant directionany direction. 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 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. As was the case with Dr Mattox, the remark is routinely attributed to first being said by Benjamin Hawkins. Although he admits when the rain starts to fall, it makes him a little nervous. He was a politician and Indian agent. In the Deep South? However, this is clearly one of those evolving language cases. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Well, at least we thought we did.but maybe not. HARDY, Ark. From the start there's been a film of dingy on my days.. He was a politician and Indian agent. On his deathbed he married the Creek woman who had been his common-law wife. Charles Wilson said the flood waters are something he has to live with to enjoy residing on the river. You'll most often hear it coming out of Mama's mouth when the kids are running amok. And yes, they roll their eyes, too. This was a Traveling Sister Read with Brenda, Sarah, Jennifer and Porshajo. 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. 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!! And, when the doins been done, the feller done did it. False folk etymology. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Over yonder toward the water tower. Gumption is spirit, courage, spunk, boldness, and initiative. Actually this is not proven. In fact, Georgia and South Carolina produce more peaches than any other states in the South. 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. The "creek don't rise" phrase is now sometimes credited to this time of unrest and displacement. After eating a big, delicious Southern dinner Granny just made, you have to finish up with a slice of sweet potato pie, right? The English language is forever changing. Just wait till you see what Granny Gladys does..with a bit of help from Mother Nature..hehehe. 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. 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. To cover your bases you might say, "I'll see you then if the creek don't rise." It may take the form of real or mock dialect, in variations like " Lor' willin' an' th' crick don' rise.". Many thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the ARC in return for an unbiased review. Used in a sentence - If the creek don't rise and God's willing, you should be able to see this video. Required fields are marked *. 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. Pot callin the kettle black. (Or maybe the Piggly Wiggly, a Southern market chain that originated in Memphis, Tennessee). God willing and the creek don't rise If all goes as it should; if everything goes well. When you're fixin' to do something, it's going to happen, but you also may decide to take your sweet time. !, Reckon has ancestry tracing all the way back to the 1000s (and maybe older still), and originally means to count, calculate.. According to http://www.aboutnorthgeorgia.com/ang/Benjamin_Hawkins: Generally recognized as the Creek Indian agent, Benjamin Hawkins also held the title of General Superintendent of all tribes south of the Ohio River. As I was in a museum, I felt confident in repeating the knowledge to others as fact. When you're exhausted in an I'm-so-beat-I-can't-go-on kind of way, you're definitely worn slap out. Someone reminded me not to be reminded of you. Is It Called Presidents Day Or Washingtons Birthday? In Gone With the Wind, Scarlett OHara says: I do declare, Frank Kennedy, if you dont look dashing with that new set of whiskers!. Anything to the degree of "all get out" is something to talk about. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. She's seventeen, pregnant and two weeks into her marriage to Roy Tupkin, after enduring brutal beatings, Sadie knows she has made a mistake. If the Creek Don't Rise is a collection of hard-used characters, tangled relationships, family angst, and fortitude. Depending on where you are, youre likely to hear words combined together (gonna for going to) and different vowel sounds than youre used to, including mah for my and git for get.Git has been in use since the 16th century all over the country, but is particularly common in the South, where it appears in everything from classic literature (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird) to personal correspondence (I want you to write me as soon as you git this letter, from a letter dating back to the Civil War). But today Ive stumbled across the claim that it refers to an uprising by the Creek (or Cree) Indians. 4.5 stars! "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." The most interesting often hail from our older generations, such as the WWII era and those raised by them. Page created 25 Feb. 2012, Problems viewing this page? It seems this saying is a favorite expression of country singers. Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll have that new barn finished in time for the harvest. Neither provides any documentation: http://pub122.ezboard.com/fwordoriginsorgfrm2.showMessage?topicID=191.topic, http://members.aol.com/MorelandC/HaveOriginsData.htm#LordWillingAndTheCreek. 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. There is a lot of controversy about this fairly common folk saying.