Hubert Selby Jr. Requiem for a Dream
Source: Requiem for a Dream
Source: Brain Wave (1954), Chapter 9 (p. 76)
Hubert Selby Jr. Requiem for a Dream
Source: Requiem for a Dream
John Hirst (1942–2016) Australian historian
The Australians: Insiders and Outsiders on the National Character since 1770 (2007)
“I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet.”
George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States
The earliest source of this quote was a famous anecdote in The Life of George Washington, with Curious Anecdotes Laudable to Himself and Exemplary to his Countrymen (1806) by Parson Weems, which is not considered a credible source, and many incidents recounted in the work are now considered to have sprung entirely from Weems’ imagination. This derives from an anecdote of Washington, as a young boy, confessing to his father Augustine Washington that it was he who had cut a cherished cherry tree.
Variant:Father, I cannot tell a lie, I cut the tree.
Misattributed, Spurious attributions
“I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet.”
Mason Weems (1759–1825) fictionalizing biographer of George Washington
Portrayed as the words of the young George Washington, confessing to have damaged a cherry tree in Life of Washington (1800)
Judy Garland (1922–1969) actress, singer and vaudevillian from the United States
As quoted in Little Girl Lost (1974) by Al DiOrio, p. 9
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist
The Golden Violet - The Rose
The Golden Violet (1827)