I Shot the Sheriff was written by Bob Marley and speaks to the repression and injustice suffered by the black people at the time. The lyrics tell the story of a man who admits to shooting the sheriff but denies shooting the deputy. The song has been interpreted as a metaphor for the fight against the oppressive colonial and police system in Jamaica. Marley explained that the lyrics also reflect personal conflicts and the defense of self-defense.
I shot the sheriff, But I didn't shoot no deputy, oh no! Oh! I shot the sheriff, But I didn't shoot no deputy. Ooh, ooh, oo-ooh.
All a-round in my home town, They're tryin' to track me down; They say they want to bring me in guilty, For the killing of a depu-ty, For the life of a dep-uty. But I say... *(Riff):
I shot the sheriff, But I swear it was in self-defence. (Oh, no! Yeah!) I say; I shot the sheriff, oh Lord! And they say it is a capital offence. Yeah!
Sheriff John Brown always hated me, For what... I don't know. Every time I plant a seed, He said kill it be-fore it grow, He said kill them be-fore they grow. And so, and so... *(Riff):
I shot the sheriff, But I swear it was in self-defence. I say; I shot the sheriff, But I swear it was in self-defence. (Yeah!)
Freedom came my way one day, And I started, out of town, yeah! All of a sudden I saw Sheriff John Brown, Aiming to shoot me down, So I shot, I shot, I shot him down. And I say... *(Riff):
I shot the sheriff, But I didn't shoot no deputy, oh no! Oh! I shot the sheriff, But I didn't shoot no deputy. Ooh, ooh, oo-ooh.
Re-flexes had the better of me, And what is to be must be. Every day, the bucket a-go a-well, One day the bottom a-go drop out, One day the bottom a-go drop out. *(Riff):
I-I-I, I shot the sheriff, Lord, I didn't shot the depu-ty. No! I-I...(shot the sheriff), But I didn't shoot no deputy. Yeah! So, yeah!