Adage: Church is not out 'till the singing's done. (July 12, 1913)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

There is a family of sayings about singing during the final stage of an event.

Church is not out till they sing.
Church is not out till the fat lady sings.
The opera isn’t over till the fat lady sings.
The game is not over till the fat lady sings.

This post contains selected citations similar to the first saying on
this list. The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs has an entry for "Church
is not out till they sing" and the first citation is dated 1966. The
precise phrase listed is "But church ain't over till they sing."

In 1913 the saying was labeled "old".

[ref] 1913 July 12, The Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer,
Volume 51, Number 2, (Issue Start Page 41), Washington (Dateline July
12, 1913), Start Page 45, Quote Page 46, Column 1, Louisiana Planter
and Sugar Manufacturer, New Orleans, Louisiana. (Google Books full
view) link [/ref]
http://books.google.com/books?id=s-koAAAAYAAJ&q=%22church+is+not%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
There is an old saying that "church is not out 'till the singing's
done," and with the narrow margin which the Democrats have in the
Senate, it is believed that at least the wool and sugar schedules are
still in the balance.
[End excerpt]


[ref] 1913 October 11, The Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer,
Volume 51, Number 15, (Issue Start Page 249), Washington (Dateline
October 1, 1913), Start Page 254, Quote Page 255, Column 1, Louisiana
Planter and Sugar Manufacturer, New Orleans, Louisiana. (Google Books
full view) link [/ref]
http://books.google.com/books?id=s-koAAAAYAAJ&q=%22never+out%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
Whether he can secure the return of enough Democrats to block the plan
of the Republicans is problematical, but in any event the political
pot will be boiling for the next few days, and the old saying that
"church is never out 'till the singing's all done" is very apropos in
this instance.
[End excerpt]


[ref] 1937 September 9, N.A.R.D. Journal, Ramblings of a Pill-Roller
by E. R. (Pete) Weaver, Page 1418, Column 1, Volume 59, Number 17,
Published by National Association of Retail Druggists, Chicago,
Illinois. (Verified on paper)[/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
This meeting to my way of thinking will be recorded in the archives of
the National Association as the biggest thing yet to ever happen so
far as the pill shops of this nation are concerned. But as I have
often said that church ain't over till they sing and to me this
meeting in Chicago is the end of a rough and rugged road that has led
us through valleys of hardships and bloody conflict…
[End excerpt]


[ref] 1951 September 28, Springfield Union, Man Like Eisenhower Seen
As Key to Victory for GOP, Quote Page 30, Column 3, Springfield,
Massachusetts. (GenealogyBank)[/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
We forgot the old New England axiom, 'Church ain't over till the singin' stops.'
[End excerpt]


[ref] 1952, Race Your Boat Right by Arthur Knapp, Jr., Chapter 17: The
Finish, (Chapter epigraph), Quote Page 247, D. Van Nostrand Company,
New York. (HathiTrust)[/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
"CHURCH AIN'T OUT 'TIL THE SINGIN'."

As you approach the finish line just remember that "Church ain't out
'til the singin'." I cannot repeat it too many times, for many a race
has been won (and lost) a few yards and even feet from that imaginary
tape.
[End excerpt]

Garson

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