Lyrics of
I Shot The Sheriff

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.

see chords
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!

(Repeat to Fade)
CHORD DIAGRAMS:
 EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
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