"Gwine"

[Wilson Gray]

Damn it! I need a hit of something to wake me up. I appear not even to
be bringing any heat to the discussion, let alone any light. Anyway,
the "morest" (soun' mo' lak [mowIs], of course) bit was meant only as
an aside. It has nothing to do with the poem at all. And my choice of
spelling is also totally arbitrary. Sometimes, I'm in the mood for
eye-dialect. Sometimes, I prefer to use standard spelling or, at other
times, pseudo-phonetic spelling. It's completely whimsical. I guess it
would help if I picked one and then stuck with it. FWIW, I can't say
whether I've ever heard "mosest" or not. It certainly seems like a
possible pronunciation.

-Wilson

On Feb 23, 2005, at 4:24 PM, Dennis R. Preston wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Dennis R. Preston" <preston at MSU.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "Gwine"
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> Now Wilson; it don't scan with "morest" (do you mean "mosest"). My
> version of it had "most" but with CC simplification to "mos."
>
> dInIs
>
>
>
>> Yes. You are correct, sir. It *was* Old Crow that was known as "Dirty
>> Bird." Folk are friendlier to brands like Jim Beam and Jack Daniel's,
>> known to their confidants as "Jimmy B." and "Jackie D.," respectively.
>> For some reason, probably just for the hell of it, a drink that was
>> known elsewhere as "WPLJ" (white port & lemon juice, celebrated in
>> several R&B tunes of the '50's) was known in St. Louis as "schoolboy
>> Scotch." And here's a bit of folk-poetic call-and-response from Los
>> Angeles:
>>
>> C. What's the word?
>> R. Thunderbird!
>> C. What's the price?
>> R. Thirty twice! [i.e. $.60; this is from 1957]
>> C. Who drinks the most?
>> R. Colored folks!
>>
>> Which reminds me, although this probably isn't news to people here,
>> "most" is replaced by "morest" in some versions of BE.
>>
>> -Wilson
>>
>> On Feb 23, 2005, at 1:41 PM, Dennis R. Preston wrote:
>>
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>> -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       "Dennis R. Preston" <preston at MSU.EDU>
>>> Subject:      Re: "Gwine"
>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> --
>>> --------
>>>
>>> Wilson,
>>>
>>> Up Louisville way we called "Old Crow" "Dirty Bird." I don't member
>>> no "Jim Crow." Sure you ain't merged "Jim Beam" and "Old Crow"?
>>>
>>> dInIs
>>>
>>>> Absolutely. I'd completely forgotten about Stephen Foster's oeuvre.
>>>> In
>>>> fact, I can recall that that's how I first learned the form,
>>>> starting
>>>> in the first grade and ending in the sixth, now that you've reminded
>>>> me. Thank you, Jon. Indeed, we were even taught the song, "Jim
>>>> Crow!"
>>>> -
>>>> I've never known who wrote it - in the first grade.
>>>>
>>>> Jump! Oh, jump!
>>>> Oh, jump, Jim Crow!
>>>> [...]
>>>> And around you go!
>>>> Slide! Slide!
>>>> Point your toe!
>>>> You're a funny little fellow
>>>> When you jump, Jim Crow!
>>>>
>>>> There was no PC back in the day. On the other hand, though, "Jim
>>>> Crow"
>>>> was such a popular brand of whiskey that it had a nickname: "Dirty
>>>> Bird."
>>>>
>>>> -Wilson
>>>>
>>>> On Feb 23, 2005, at 8:04 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>>> -----------------------
>>>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>>> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
>>>>> Subject:      Re: "Gwine"
>>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> --
>>>>> --
>>>>> --------
>>>>>
>>>>> "Gwine" became an iconic spelling in minstrel songs: Foster's
>>>>> "Gwine
>>>>> to run all night, gwine to run all day!" and "I'm gwine to
>>>>> Louisiana
>>>>> with my banjo on my knee!" come to mind instantly.
>>>>>
>>>>> JL
>>>>>
>>>>> Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM> wrote:
>>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>>> -----------------------
>>>>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>>>>> Poster: Wilson Gray
>>>>> Subject: "Gwine"
>>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> --
>>>>> --
>>>>> --------
>>>>>
>>>>> "Y'all" was so much fun that we should do another one, "gwine,"
>>>>> that
>>>>> should be less controversial. I'm no longer certain of how or when
>>>>> I
>>>>> became familiar with this example of old-school Negro dialect. But
>>>>> I
>>>>> do
>>>>> recall hearing it spoken in jest by a schoolmate in Texas around
>>>>> 1947.
>>>>> Otherwise, I was familiar with "gwine" only from the movies,
>>>>> especially
>>>>> George Pal's dumb-nigger animated cartoons and from comic books and
>>>>> such written in Negro dialect. But, similarly to "y'all," as a
>>>>> singular, I never heard it spoken in real life.
>>>>>
>>>>> For years and years, I listened to all kinds of blues and rhythm &
>>>>> blues, talked with colored folk from all over the South, and the
>>>>> closest that I came to hearing a real "gwine" was "goina." Then,
>>>>> one
>>>>> evening in 1979, I was listening to an interview with Sunnyland
>>>>> Slim,
>>>>> an old-time blues pianist and a native of Mississsippi, on the
>>>>> local
>>>>> NPR station, when I heard him say quite clearly, "They was gwine
>>>>> broke!" My reaction was, "Damn! It's true! In fact, it's still a
>>>>> living
>>>>> form!" Then I noticed that Memphis "She plays guitar like a man"
>>>>> Minnie
>>>>> used "gwine." That was odd, because I'd been listening to her songs
>>>>> for
>>>>> years without hearing any "gwine." But that mystery solved itself.
>>>>> Sometimes, Minnie chose to use "gwine"; other times she chose to
>>>>> use
>>>>> "gon(na)." I assume that she originally used "gwine," shifting over
>>>>> time to "gon(na)," as "gwine" fell out of fashion. But that's just
>>>>> a
>>>>> guess.
>>>>>
>>>>> Sunnyland Slim and Memphis Minnie are both now deceased. Has
>>>>> "gwine"
>>>>> finally died with them?
>>>>>
>>>>> -Wilson Gray
>>>>>
>>>>>
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