Not He

 

 

“Not he” is a regular response

We hear from day to day,

I will identify two customary scenarios

When “not he” you’d hear people say.

 

The first relates to the negative

As in the case of committing a crime,

“Not he,” you are likely to hear

From a loved-one of some kind.

 

The second will follow the first

I trust you don’t miss the switch,

I am sure if you read very carefully

It’ll happen without a hitch.

 

“I know he father and he mother,

I know he brothers and sisters too

And I would put my neck to the block,

That crime he would never do.”

 

He come up in Sunday school

And he went to school with me,

I tell you sincerely from my heart

No way at no time; “not he!”

 

I can vouch for him, I tell you,

Cause I know him for many a year

So, don’t you scandalize his name,

Don’t you dare!

“Not he,” I am telling you

He would never do anything like that

So, whoever you hear running talk,

Tell them they are talking crap.

 

Cause you know someone that knows

And he told you definitely “not he”,

And, if that doesn’t satisfy them

Tell them to come and talk to me.

 

Tell them I would set them straight

Regarding who they talking ‘bout,

He would never do what they say he do,

“Not he,” without a doubt.

 

“I didn’t know he was that bright

I never got that impression!

What is it that you say he achieved?

“Not he,” is still my submission.

 

Why, he only went to a low school

And he left there at an early age

So, what you are telling me is impossible,

“Not he!” now or at any stage.

 

 

I bet you he got it from in the USA

Where degrees can be gotten for a fee

Such that if that is how he got his

I could take back my “not he”.

 

But, and I am only saying but,

If he achieved it by dint of study

That would still be highly suspicious

And I would still advance, “not he”.

 

He just doesn’t have what it takes

Whether by a fee or through study,

So, my position remains the same:

I am adamantly saying, “Not he!”

 

Two scenarios I have advanced:

One negative and the other a positive

Where the phrase “not he” was used

Concerning what a person did.

 

We hold perceptions of persons

That we are reluctant to ever change

And when they differ from our expectations

We think, “That’s rather strange!”

 

Whether negative or even positive

The “not he” comes into play,

It could be a crime or some achievement:

“Not he!” someone would likely say.

 

Stewart Russell © June 8, 2022