Root Hog or Die
I recently heard a co-worker use this phrase while discussing the decisions that people make over the course of their lives. Of course, it caused an eruption of laughter from the surrounding cube farms (it helps that this particular co-worker has naturally great comic timing); and why wouldn’t it? Seriously, ‘root hog or die’?
But upon closer inspection, I discovered some fascinating perspectives on these 4 short, snappy words. A little bit of Google-gazing provided some background of the probable origin and a few excerpts of the phrase put to verse:
“Root Hog or Die” (c. 1854)
Several songs of unknown authorship were published before the Civil War, including patriotic and minstrel songs. A patriotic version opens with these words:
This first set of lyrics indicates a resolve by the Yanks that simply refused to allow the Brits to defeat them. In this context, there is a sort of nobleness for the cause, if you will. Reminds me a bit of Kerri Strug executing that beautiful vault in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. There was nothing – no busted ankle, no pain, no coach, parent or adoring fan – that could stop her from completing that run.
I saw that vault ‘first-run’; it was impressive, to say the least. There was a sense of pride watching this little, 80 pound American gymnast ‘take one for the team’. Root hog or die.
There is another version I discovered written in 1858. A song from the gold field camps on the front range of the Rockies, written by G.W.H. Griffin, addressed the hardships of gold miners. Note verse 1 in the inset below.
Whereas the song penned pre-Civil War was outward focused with a determination of victory, this song from 1858 has a definite inward focus. Sure, victory was the goal, but not to the benefit of ‘King and Country” – not at all – this is all about personal victory. Not necessarily as noble as the prior, but there is definitely something to be said for driven resolve; in fact, it separates the strong from the weak, the go-getters from the stagnant.
The team that provides 5+ months of excitement and anticipation for millions and millions of fans each Fall by passing, kicking and running a strangely shaped pigskin ‘ball’ back and forth in a rectangular box 160 feet by 360 feet is not doing anything for those millions. Sure, they might enjoy their fans, giving their time off the field in charitable work, sponsoring programs for underprivileged youth, etc.…but wait…that time also provide good press, book deals and endorsement offers.
“The NFL’s top earner between June 2014 and June 2015 was Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who made $48.9 million, including $2.5 million from endorsements, licensing and appearances. The two-time Super Bowl-winning QB inked a four-year, $87.4 million deal in March, which included a $31 million signing bonus and $3.25 million roster bonus (he also banked $12.1 million in base salary in 2014).” – Forbes.com article dated September 14, 2015
Interesting tidbit – after an injury in 2015,
Jeremy Fowler wrote an article for ESPN.com,
stating Big Ben would be missing a game
due to injury for the 17th time in his career.
Over a 12-year span, that’s not significant time,
roughly 1.4 games per year, as opposed to fellow quarterbacks
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, who have each missed whole seasons for injuries.
That is to say, pro sports can bring big $$, but talented stars also pay a high price
by risking their physical safety every time they step on the field.
Newer versions of Root Hog or Die have also been recorded. June Carter Cash had a minor hit in the 1950’s with her version, now available on YouTube with guitar by Chet Atkins. The first verse is as follows (see inset below):
(Wait, June Carter Cash and Chet Atkins!?! Well, I suppose that’s more explainable than Cold Play…back to the perspectives.)
Truth be told, I don’t have much perspective here, but the concept of a country music song written on this phrase was too good not to include.
(Maybe later I’ll share a favorite childhood memory about the breakout hit by Hoyt Wayne Axton entitled ‘Boney Fingers’.)
What’s in this for me?
All that said, the most significant thoughts about this are centered in a spiritual application that cannot be overlooked. Philippians 2:12 provides crucial insight:
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. –KJV
Paul had just admonished the believers (Phil. 2:5-11) in Philippi to
‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus…to the glory of God the Father’
(one of my favorite passages in scripture), and continues that vein in verse 12. Adam Clarke comments:
As ye have always obeyed – Continue to act on the same principles and from the same motives; having the same disposition which was in Christ; laboring so as to promote His glory.
Work out your own salvation – Go on, walking by the same rule, and minding the same thing, till your salvation be completed: till, filled with love to God and man, ye walk unblamably in all his testimonies, having your fruit unto holiness, and your end everlasting life.
With fear and trembling – Considering the difficulty of the work, and the danger of miscarriage; if you do not watch, pray and continually depend on God, your enemies will surprise you, and your light and life will become extinct; and then consider what an awful account you must give to Him whose Spirit ye have grieved, and of whose glory ye have come short.
Do you see the beautiful correlation? If we get incredibly literal, ‘Root Hog or Die’ says to us that if the hog does not do that which is necessary to eat – root – they will perish. The God-inspired words of the Apostle tell us the very same: the successful Christian is the one who will, as Clarke pens:
- Continue to act
- Have the same disposition as the Supreme Example of Christ
- Labor to promote Christ’s glory
- Go on
- Walk by the same rule (as Christ walked)
- Mind the same thing (as Christ minded)
Till your salvation be completed –
- Consider the difficulty of the work, and the danger of miscarriage
- Watch
- Pray
- Depend continually on God
- Consider the awful account you must give to Him Whose Spirit you have grieved, and of Whose glory you will come short
In no way am I subscribing to a works-based Christianity. We are saved by grace through faith – not of any effort of our own. And when are miraculously saved a new life begins; our allegiance begins a shift from love of self to love of God. And as always the case when a new love relationship is born, our attitudes and actions shift along with our allegiance. This gift of new life, coupled with the realization that we have been saved from eternal damnation, spurns us to action. With the passing of time, this growing relationship with our Father God and elder Brother, Jesus, coupled with the work of the Holy Spirit within us, the Christian views servant-hood as a means to life – his life as well as the lives of others. We can’t not give, we can’t not care, we can’t not reach out. For to cease giving, to cease caring, to cease reaching out means to cease living, to cease being.
Root hog or die
