---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh no, I'm not a historian or anything…"
description: "\"Oh no, I'm not a historian or anything like that.\" — Lee Hazlewood"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lee-hazlewood-28676_historian_oh-no-i-m-not-a-historian-or-anything-li_329371.jpg"
---

#  Oh no, I'm not a historian or anything like that.

![“Oh no, I'm not a historian or anything like that.” quote by Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lee-hazlewood-28676_historian_oh-no-i-m-not-a-historian-or-anything-li_329371.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lee-hazlewood-28676_historian_oh-no-i-m-not-a-historian-or-anything-li_329371.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lee-hazlewood-28676_historian_oh-no-i-m-not-a-historian-or-anything-li_329371.jpg)

> “Oh no, I'm not a historian or anything like that.”

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Admits lack of expertise, implying humility and openness.

**In simple terms:** I’m not an expert.

Key Takeaway

Acknowledge limits, stay open to learning.

Themes

humility self-awareness learning

Mood

reflective casual

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- public speaking
- writing
- teaching

Key Concepts

expertise knowledge gaps

Questions to Reflect On

- When is it okay to admit ignorance?
- How does humility affect perception?

A Different Perspective

May limit credibility in certain contexts.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/)

## Related quotes

> [The aim of the historian, like that of the artist, is to enlarge our picture of the world, to give us a new way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joll/the-aim-of-the-historian-like-that-of-the-artist-is-to-enlarge-our/)

James Joll

> [The good historian is like the giant of the fairy tale. He knows that wherever he catches the scent of human flesh, there his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bloch/the-good-historian-is-like-the-giant-of-the-fairy-tale-he-knows-that/)

[Marc Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bloch/)

> [The footnote would seem to be the smallest detail in a work of history. Yet it carries a large burden of responsibility, testifying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-himmelfarb/the-footnote-would-seem-to-be-the-smallest-detail-in-a-work-of/)

[Gertrude Himmelfarb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-himmelfarb/)

> [I'm a historian by training and by conviction. And so the thing that has throughout informed my thinking about international relations is history. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/i-m-a-historian-by-training-and-by-conviction-and-so-the-thing-that/)

[Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/)

> [If experiments are performed thousands of times at all seasons and in every place without once producing the effects mentioned by your philosophers, poets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/if-experiments-are-performed-thousands-of-times-at-all-seasons-and-in/)

[Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/)

> [“The historian will tell you what happened, the novelist will tell you what it felt like.” E.L. Doctorow”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-historian-will-tell-you-what-happened-the-novelist-will-tell-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [All I am in private life is a literary critic and historian, that's my job...And I'm prepared to say on that basis if anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/all-i-am-in-private-life-is-a-literary-critic-and-historian-that-s-my/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [The issue of civil rights was too much for the establishment to handle. One of the chapters of history that's least studied by historians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/the-issue-of-civil-rights-was-too-much-for-the-establishment-to/)

[Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/)

> [The historian amputates reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaetano-salvemini/the-historian-amputates-reality/)

Gaetano Salvemini

> [The novelist must look on humanity without partiality or prejudice. His sympathy, like that of the historian, must be unbounded, and untainted by sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-novelist-must-look-on-humanity-without-partiality-or-prejudice/)

[Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/)

> [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [In history as it comes to be written, there is usually some Spirit of the Age which historians can define, but the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/in-history-as-it-comes-to-be-written-there-is-usually-some-spirit-of/)

[Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/)

> [“military historian Richard Holmes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-wright/military-historian-richard-holmes/)

Clare Wright

> [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/)

[James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/)

> [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

## More by Lee Hazlewood

> [Well, you'll find the most boring part of it is the waiting, at least if it's in films anyway. Television's a lot faster, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/well-you-ll-find-the-most-boring-part-of-it-is-the-waiting-at-least/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [People think I'm crazy because I travel too much, but I haven't been doing any of that lately because I got a little sick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/people-think-i-m-crazy-because-i-travel-too-much-but-i-haven-t-been/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [You see I have to be in the clinic every Thursday and it's in Phoenix so I have to fly down or drive down.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/you-see-i-have-to-be-in-the-clinic-every-thursday-and-it-s-in-phoenix/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [The movie wasn't a hit, although it did well in Europe for some reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/the-movie-wasn-t-a-hit-although-it-did-well-in-europe-for-some-reason/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [“some of us stay and some of us go sooner or later we all make the little flowers grow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/some-of-us-stay-and-some-of-us-go-sooner-or-later-we-all-make-the/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [Nobody heard records of you playing whatever the melody was on those low strings. It worked out good, you know, about 25 or 26…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/nobody-heard-records-of-you-playing-whatever-the-melody-was-on-those/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [I always liked circuses, so I would have enjoyed that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/i-always-liked-circuses-so-i-would-have-enjoyed-that/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [So I became a producer because I knew one of the reasons was they didn't do them the way I thought was right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/so-i-became-a-producer-because-i-knew-one-of-the-reasons-was-they/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [I think for writers who write that kind of stuff, they want to make changes. Look at Kris Kristofferson and Dylan. I mean, whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/i-think-for-writers-who-write-that-kind-of-stuff-they-want-to-make/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [I used to not stutter any. Oh, I did when I was a kid, I stuttered, I had a bad stutter until I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/i-used-to-not-stutter-any-oh-i-did-when-i-was-a-kid-i-stuttered-i-had/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [I just did one movie and there was no career for me, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/i-just-did-one-movie-and-there-was-no-career-for-me-anyway/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [There's nothing worse, I guess, than being black in an all-white church or being southern and being a liberal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/there-s-nothing-worse-i-guess-than-being-black-in-an-all-white-church/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [If it was Europe, I just picked a country that I hadn't been to, but I didn't try to check up on what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/if-it-was-europe-i-just-picked-a-country-that-i-hadn-t-been-to-but-i/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [So anyway, I really enjoyed the European audiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/so-anyway-i-really-enjoyed-the-european-audiences/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

> [When we did that kind of stuff our only rule was... Well, we didn't have any rules, really, but my rule, because I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/when-we-did-that-kind-of-stuff-our-only-rule-was-well-we-didn-t-have/)

[Lee Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

[Explore all 19 Lee Hazlewood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/)

## More Historian quotes

> [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

> [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/)

[James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/)

> [“military historian Richard Holmes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-wright/military-historian-richard-holmes/)

Clare Wright

> [In history as it comes to be written, there is usually some Spirit of the Age which historians can define, but the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/in-history-as-it-comes-to-be-written-there-is-usually-some-spirit-of/)

[Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/)

> [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [The novelist must look on humanity without partiality or prejudice. His sympathy, like that of the historian, must be unbounded, and untainted by sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-novelist-must-look-on-humanity-without-partiality-or-prejudice/)

[Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/)

> [The historian amputates reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaetano-salvemini/the-historian-amputates-reality/)

Gaetano Salvemini

> [The issue of civil rights was too much for the establishment to handle. One of the chapters of history that's least studied by historians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/the-issue-of-civil-rights-was-too-much-for-the-establishment-to/)

[Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/)

> [All I am in private life is a literary critic and historian, that's my job...And I'm prepared to say on that basis if anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/all-i-am-in-private-life-is-a-literary-critic-and-historian-that-s-my/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [“The historian will tell you what happened, the novelist will tell you what it felt like.” E.L. Doctorow”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-historian-will-tell-you-what-happened-the-novelist-will-tell-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If experiments are performed thousands of times at all seasons and in every place without once producing the effects mentioned by your philosophers, poets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/if-experiments-are-performed-thousands-of-times-at-all-seasons-and-in/)

[Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/)

> [I'm a historian by training and by conviction. And so the thing that has throughout informed my thinking about international relations is history. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/i-m-a-historian-by-training-and-by-conviction-and-so-the-thing-that/)

[Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/)

> [The footnote would seem to be the smallest detail in a work of history. Yet it carries a large burden of responsibility, testifying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-himmelfarb/the-footnote-would-seem-to-be-the-smallest-detail-in-a-work-of/)

[Gertrude Himmelfarb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-himmelfarb/)

> [Who says history is stagnant? For a historian, facts do not change; it is the way we look at things, our interpretations, that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-says-history-is-stagnant-for-a-historian-facts-do-not-change-it/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Since history has no properly scientific value, its only purpose is educative. And if historians neglect to educate the public, if they fail to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-trevelyan/since-history-has-no-properly-scientific-value-its-only-purpose-is/)

[G. M. Trevelyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-trevelyan/)

Browse all 920 Historian quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Oh no, I'm not a historian or anything like that.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lee Hazlewood"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/oh-no-i-m-not-a-historian-or-anything-like-that/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Historian"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/oh-no-i-m-not-a-historian-or-anything-like-that/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lee-hazlewood-28676_historian_oh-no-i-m-not-a-historian-or-anything-li_329371.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lee-hazlewood-28676_historian_oh-no-i-m-not-a-historian-or-anything-li_329371.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lee-hazlewood-28676_historian_oh-no-i-m-not-a-historian-or-anything-li_329371.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Oh no, I'm not a historian or anything like that.” — Lee Hazlewood",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Lee Hazlewood",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hazlewood/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Oh no, I'm not a historian...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/oh-no-i-m-not-a-historian-or-anything-like-that/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hazlewood/oh-no-i-m-not-a-historian-or-anything-like-that/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
