Growing up in Appalachia, there have always been strange things that I’ve heard from the older generations. I took many of these with a grain of salt; they were just something funny that my grandmother would say, which I never really understood. However, there was one phrase that she repeated throughout my whole childhood that I picked up and use on my own now.
I’m sure plenty of people have heard the phrase ”The devil is beatin’ his wife.” I remember the first time I heard this, I was at my grandmother‘s house, and it had been raining the entire time I’d been there, so she wouldn’t let me play outside. After a while, I saw the sun peak through the blinds, and I excitedly asked her if I could finally go play outside since the sun’s out, and she just responded by saying, “No, the devil’s beatin’ his wife.”
As a child, I had absolutely no clue what she meant, but I didn’t think to question it; she had said no, and that was the end of the story. As time went on, I heard her say it more frequently, and I often heard other people say it. Finally, I asked my mom what it meant. She giggled to herself and responded, “It’s an old Appalachian saying… People say the devil’s beatin’ his wife when it’s raining, but the sun is still out.” I stopped to think for a second and then asked her why. She also thought for a second and said, “I don’t know. I always thought it was because the rain is the devil’s wife’s tears.”
I took that at face value and completely moved on, but I did start saying it by myself, and many people have never heard of it. Any time I would say it, and someone would ask what I meant, I would tell them the same thing my mom told me. It wasn’t until the other day that I questioned if my mom‘s explanation was actually accurate. Well, it turns out she’s right (per usual), but there’s more to the story,
The phrase “The devil is beatin’ his wife” actually originated in French folklore. It was first recorded in the early 1700s and quickly spread throughout Europe. Once Europeans made their way to America, it followed them and has stuck strongly in Appalachian culture.
When the phrase was recorded and used more often, it was explained that the rain was, in fact, symbolic of the devil’s wife’s tears. But that leaves a question of what about the sun? Well, the sun is representative of the devil’s fiery nature. But that’s not all, the original French phrase also included the statement “and marrying his daughter.”
Next time it is raining and the sun is out and you think to yourself, “The devil’s beatin’ his wife,” now you know where this phrase comes from and what it really means, and if you’ve never heard this before, you now have a new fun fact!
