I declare!
By DAN LANGFORD
Similar to “I swannee” is “I declare,” a statement of surprise and/or emphsis one once heard quite often in the South. It’s a useful phrase, capable of covering all the territory from “my goodness” to “I’ll be damned.” Usually, it meant a nice surprise, more in line with “my goodness” than the other extreme. The late Floy Farr, father of Peachtree City, said it to me when we met for the first time in more than twenty years, some ten or twelve years ago. “Well, I declare, Dan; you’ve grown up since I saw you last.”
It’s a phrase that’s not much heard anymore, which I think is a shame. A lot of our quaint Southern sayings are becoming scarce as hen’s teeth. I declare, that’s a trend I don’t much care for.