I've heard two forms:

Sakes alive!
Land sakes alive!


It means something like, I suppose, "For goodness' sake!" But how odd, really: Sakes alive!
Is that just an intensive form of "For goodness' sake!"--you know, this goodness thing that is begging saking is so vibrant that the required sakes are alive? And how did that "land" come onto the scene?

The more I think about it, the more confused I become.

Any input more than welcome.

Befuddled regards,
WordWhirled