God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise

Not to be confused with the country song "If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise", or the documentary If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise.

God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise
Studio album by Ray LaMontagne
Released	August 17, 2010 (US)
Recorded	March 15–28, 2010
Studio	The Big Room, Apple Hill, (Massachusetts)
Genre	Folk, folk rock
Length	44:27
Label	RCA/Stone Dwarf/RED (US)
Producer	Ray LaMontagne
Ray LaMontagne chronology
Gossip in the Grain (2008) God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise (2010) Supernova (2014)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]
Spin	[3]
PopMatters	[4]

God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise^[5] is singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne's fourth full-length release, which was released on August 17, 2010.

The record is credited to "Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs". This is the first time that LaMontagne has released music in collaboration with other artists, within the context of a band.^[6]

It is the first album that was completely produced by LaMontagne. The music was recorded in a period of two weeks at LaMontagne's home in Massachusetts.^[7]

On December 1, 2010, the album was nominated for two Grammy awards, including Best Contemporary Folk Album, which it won.^[8] The song "Beg Steal or Borrow" was nominated for Song of the Year.^[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ray LaMontagne

God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Repo Man"	6:08
2.	"New York City's Killing Me"	4:13
3.	"God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise"	3:10
4.	"Beg Steal or Borrow"	4:32
5.	"Are We Really Through"	4:59
6.	"This Love is Over"	3:30
7.	"Old Before Your Time"	4:04
8.	"For the Summer"	3:52
9.	"Like Rock & Roll and Radio"	6:05
10.	"Devil's in the Jukebox"	3:54

Personnel

Ray LaMontagne collaborated with the following musicians on this album:^[10]

• Ray LaMontagne – vocals and acoustic guitar on all tracks, harmonica on tracks 8, 9 and 10
• Jennifer Condos – bass on all tracks except track 9
• Jay Bellerose – drums on all tracks except tracks 5 and 9
• Eric Heywood – pedal steel guitar on tracks 2, 3, 4 and 5, acoustic guitar on tracks 6, 7 and 8, electric guitar on tracks 1 and 10
• Greg Leisz – electric guitar on tracks 1 and 4, pedal steel guitar on tracks 3 and 6, acoustic guitar on track 5, lap steel guitar on track 8, electric baritone guitar on track 2, banjo on track 7, acoustic resonator steel guitar and mandola on track 10
• Patrick Warren – keyboards on track 6
• Ryan Freeland – accordion on track 8

Technical

• Ray LaMontagne – producer
• Ryan Freeland – recorder and mixer
• Michael McDonald – management
• Megahn Foley – art direction and design
• Mark Seliger – portrait photography
• Tobias LaMontagne – still photography
• Jay Bellerose – additional photography
• Sarah Sousa – additional photography

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2010) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 41 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 34 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13] 89 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[14] 4 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] 16 French Albums (SNEP)[16] 69 Irish Albums (IRMA)[17] 13 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] 24 Scottish Albums (OCC)[19] 17 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 44 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 43 UK Albums (OCC)[22] 17 US Billboard 200[23] 3 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[24] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2010) Position US Billboard 200[25] 177 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[26] 45

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[27]	Gold	500,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. AllMusic review, AllMusic
2. "God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise by Ray LaMontage and the Pariah Dogs | Rolling Stone Music | Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. August 18, 2010. Archived from the original on August 18, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
3. "Ray LaMontagne, 'God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise' (RCA)". Spin.com. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
4. "PopMatters review". Popmatters.com. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
5. For the 19th-century journalistic origin of the American pseudo-rustic expression, "God willing and the creek don't rise", see Michael Quinion, "WorldWideWords": "God willing and the creek don’t rise"
6. "Ray LaMontagne". Columbia Records UK. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
7. Simpson, Dave (September 3, 2010). "Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs: God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise". The Guardian. Retrieved on October 7, 2010.
8. "Lady Antebellum Takes Home Five Grammys; Justin Bieber Gets Beat for Best Newcomer". Fox News. Associated Press. February 14, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
9. "Boyle in Grammy battle with Gaga and Perry". Belfast Telegraph. December 2, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
10. Jurek, Thom. "God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved on October 7, 2010.
11. "Australiancharts.com – Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs – God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
12. "Ultratop.be – Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs – God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
13. "Ultratop.be – Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs – God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
14. "Ray LaMontagne Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs – God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
16. "Lescharts.com – Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs – God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
17. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Ray LaMontagne". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
18. "Charts.nz – Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs – God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
19. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
20. "Swedishcharts.com – Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs – God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
21. "Swisscharts.com – Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs – God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
23. "Ray LaMontagne Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
24. "Ray LaMontagne Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
25. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
26. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
27. "American album certifications – Ray Lamontagne – God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 15, 2022.

External links

• "Ray LaMontagne News & Press". News update on summer tour & album release. Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
• Billboard review of Gossip in the Grain