Up the Suwannee

[1977Nicky]

Where does the phrase Up the Suwannee come from?

[Quizmonster]

I think 'down the S(u)wanee' is more common. The Suwanee is a river in the USA and the idea is that - if something goes down it - it is headed for destruction or ruin of some sort. It is similar in sense to 'down the drain' or 'down the tubes' etc.

[1977Nicky]

Ahh, yes down the S(u)wannee is what I meant! I knew what the phrase meant but it wasn't until I saw it in a book the other day that I realised it was spelt this way - I always thought it was Swannie! Isn't it weird how you can go through life thinking one thing and then you find out you were wrong all along, the same book also taught me that it wasn't a 'mute' point but a 'moot' point! Is the River Suwannee a very dangerous river then?!

[Quizmonster]

I was obviously wrong to suggest that 'down' was more common than 'up' in this context. It's just my old-fashioned reading of the situation, I'm afraid! It was 'down' in my day, as they say. Doing a Google search with the two words reveals vastly more pages with 'up'. Nevertheless, it still means the same thing. Perhaps the upper reaches of the two rivers of that name in the USA are particularly perilous!

[Quizmonster]

1977, we were obviously typing simultaneously there! Stick with 'up' is my advice now!

[nickmo]

And a nice desciption of the river here with pics: http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/floridasherman.htm

[jno]

I suppose the popularity of Stephen Foster's song Old Folks at Home - aka Way Down upon the Swannee River, which is its first line - may have helped fix the phrase in people's minds as just meaning 'river'. Similar to 'up the creek'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Folks_at_Home