C I V I L    M A R R I A G E    I S    A    C I V I L    R I G H T.

A N D N O W I T ' S T H E L A W O F T H E L A N D.


Sunday, July 11, 2010

Sunday Drive: Will There Be Any Stars in My Crown?

Sometimes my dear old Mama would say, when I'd done something nice for her, "There'll be many stars in your crown."  I knew it was an old Southern saying, but I didn't realize till now that it was from a song.  I 'spec a lot of our old sayings are from old songs, sacred or secular.  Like "if I'd known you were coming, I'd a-baked a cake," and such as that.

Here's some fine old-time bluegrass singing and picking by Alison Krauss and the Cox family.  Enjoy.  And think about your mama.



Lyrics here.

5 comments:

Frank said...

I wonder...did the saying come from a song...or did someone write a song that used an even older saying in the lyrics...

Staircase Witch said...

We're big fans of Allison Kraus around here, and I love that song--my grandmother (from western Pennsylvania) used to sing it to me when I was very small. I still use the expression sometimes, where other people might say "karma."

Russ Manley said...

SW - glad you like. Very nice blog you got over there, I like the way you write.

Frank - The chicken or the egg? The crown imagery goes all the way back to scripture, so you may be right. But even if it was an older saying, I'm sure the song made it even more popular in the 20th century.

A little googling turned up a Joel McCrea western, "Stars in My Crown," 1950, about a small-town preacher who has the song played at every service. That might also have helped spread the saying, who knows.

Staircase Witch said...

Russ, that's very kind of you. (I found you through Midwestern Malaise, via your post on Sears kit houses.) I admire smart, thoughtful man's men. :)

Russ Manley said...

We admire the same things. Grin.

Any friend of David's is a friend of mine, drop by and take a ride in the Blue Truck anytime.

Related Posts with Thumbnails