The Gospel Truth

Posted by ESC on September 20, 2004

In Reply to: Strue posted by Lotg on September 20, 2004

: : : : : : Hi ther,
: : : : : : Does anyone use "God truth" as in "truth"?

: : : : : : ==It was like we became friends first, that's the honest to god truth"?

: : : : : : thank you

: : : : : The crucial phrase is, I think, 'Honest to God', rather than 'God truth'. It is reasonably common I think, and derives, presumably, from the speaker asking God to validate the truth of the statement - swearing an oath, if you like:

: : : : : 'That is the truth, honest to God,' might be another way of saying it.

: : : : : DFG

: : : : It would be clearer if the original author had punctuated it " that's the honest-to-god truth" ... the hyphens connecting the three words would show them as an adjective modifying "truth."

: : : That's the God's honest truth. If I'm lying, I'm flying. So help me Hannah. May lightning strike me dead.

: : ..and hence the erstwhile Cockney but now predominantly Australian abbreviation "strewth", which is a member of the "cor blimey", "crikey", "bloody" and, more archaically, "zounds" and "gadzooks" euphemistic family.

I kept "hearing" a Disney tune about "the gospel truth." I found it. It's not the gospel that I believe in, but...

The Gospel Truth
From: Hercules
Music: Alan Menken
Lyrics: David Zippel
Performed by: Cheryl Freeman, LaChanze, Vaneese Thomas, Roz Ryan, Lilias White [The Muses]
Back when the world was new
The planet earth was down on its luck
And ev'rywhere gigantic brutes called
Titans ran amok

It was a nasty place
There was a mess wherever you stepped
Where chaos riegned and earthquakes
And volcanoes never slept

And then along came Zeus
He hurled his thunderbolt
He zapped
Locked those suckers in a vault
They're trapped
And on his own stopped chaos in its tracks
And that's the gospel truth
The guy was too type A to just relax

And that's the world's first dish
Zeus tamed the globe while still in his youth
Though, honey, it may seem imposs'ble
That's the gospel truth

On Mt. Olympus life was neat and
Smooth as sweet vermouth
Though, honey, it may seem imposs'ble
That's the gospel truth...