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I Shot The Sheriff chords by Bob Marley

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I Shot The Sheriff | Chords + Lyrics

Chorus 1

Verse 1

Instrumental 1

||: G Minor Pentatonic riff :|| 2/4 Gm |

Chorus 2

Verse 2

Instrumental 2

||: G Minor Pentatonic riff :|| 2/4 Gm |
And so, read it in the news.

Chorus 3

Verse 3

Instrumental 3

||: G Minor Pentatonic riff :|| Gm | Gm |
If I am guilty I will pay.

Chorus 4

Verse 4

Instrumental 4

||: G Minor Pentatonic riff :|| 2/4 Gm |

Chorus 5

End

||: Gm | Cm Cm7 Cm Cm7 | Gm7 Gm Gm7 | Gm7 Gm Gm7 :|| x3
| Gm | Cm |

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You can learn how to play I Shot The Sheriff!

My one acoustic guitar arrangement of I Shot The Sheriff is inspired by the original Bob Marley recording.

Great care had to be taken in order to fit that legendary bass line in, paired with the reggae strums, played in a varied way so it sounds like a band jamming.

I’ve also transcribed several licks from the original recording and managed to fit these into this one acoustic guitar arrangement, it took a long time but was well worth it.

The various recordings Bob made of this fantastic song really are a treasure with so much to learn from.

After three hours of video lessons (!), we end up playing the chorus vocal melody, the verse vocal, the bass line then a developed chorus melody.

Here’s the TAB of what I play at the end of the video lesson above. This is step 8 of the course.

Eric Clapton’s version of I Shot The Sheriff was more popular

Released in 1973 on the album Burnin’ and also as a single, I Shot The Sheriff is one of Bob Marley and The Wailers’ signature songs.

Originally, Bob wanted to say “I shot the Police” but to avoid “fuzz from the government”, he decided that using sheriff would still get the message across.

Only a year after the original release, Eric Clapton released a cover version, included in his sensational album 461 Ocean Boulevard. This clearly helped to spread the song and must have introduced Marley to a wider audience as Clapton at this time was known worldwide.

Clapton’s version chartered better than the original, reaching the number-one spot in the U.S. To this day making it Eric’s only U.S. #1.

Apparently, Bob once came over to Eric’s house. After he’d left, a note was found on the fridge door saying: I Shot The Sheriff, with the I being underlined.

I Shot The Sheriff’s 8 guitar lessons

To play I Shot The Sheriff on just one guitar we must study what the bass is playing on the original recording.

Once this is established, everything else falls into place. After learning the complete song step by step we also tackle the vocal melody.

In total, there are 8 step-by-step lessons for I Shot The Sheriff available. Here are links to each lesson in the course (members only):

I Shot The Sheriff chords | Related pages

Five similar tunes

When you can play I Shot The Sheriff's chords, try these five tunes from the song book.

Eric Clapton

As well as a member of bands like Derek & The Dominos, The Yardbirds, and Cream, Clapton has successfully played sessions for more stars than any other guitar player.

His long career earned him three inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

Eric Clapton tunes.

Eric Clapton on the web

Bob Marley

Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, guitarist, and activist.

Marley is the most widely known performer of reggae music and is regarded by many as a prophet of the Rastafarian religion. Few artists have had such widespread recognition as Bob Marley.

Bob Marley tunes.

Bob Marley on the web

Advanced Acoustic Songs

These songs use big chord extensions and sometimes, unique and complex chords that incorporate open strings.

Study these in-depth and you will gain a complete understanding of the guitar fretboard, including how to build any scale, arpeggio, or chord.

Advanced Acoustic Songs.