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)
Manu Chao (1961) French Spanish singer, guitarist and record producer
Todo es mentira en este mundo<br>Todo es mentira la verdad<br>Todo es mentira yo me digo<br>Todo es mentira ¿Por qué será? <br class="br"> Mentira https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=PCZuYK3Rjig. <br class="br">Clandestino (1998)
Johnny Cash (1932–2003) American singer-songwriter
Cry! Cry! Cry!
Song lyrics, Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar (1957)
Umberto Eco (1932–2016) Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist
Variant: A sign is anything that can be used to tell a lie.
Source: Trattato di semiotica generale (1975); [A Theory of Semiotics] (1976)
Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist
Source: Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 2 (2013), p. 304
Robert Southey (1774–1843) British poet
St. 11. <br class="br"> The Battle of Blenheim http://www.poetry-archive.com/s/the_battle_of_blenheim.html (1798)
“My dad said I did the right thing. I hope I did, but it's hard to tell sometimes.”
Stephen Chbosky book The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Source: The Perks of Being a Wallflower
“A little careful pushing, and they’ll bury the hatchet all right—in each other.”
Poul Anderson book Brain Wave
Source: Brain Wave (1954), Chapter 9 (p. 76)
