I Shot The Sheriff | Chords + Lyrics
Chorus 1
| Gm | Cm (Cm7) | Gm7 (Gm) | Gm7 (Gm) |
I shot the sheriff, but I didn’t shoot no deputy, oh no! Oh!
| Gm | Cm (Cm7) | Gm7 (Gm) | Gm7 (Gm) |
I shot the sheriff, but I didn’t shoot no deputy, ooh, ooh, oo-ooh.
Verse 1
| Eb Dm7 | Gm7 | Eb Dm7/A | Gm7 |
All around in my hometown, they’re trying to track me down.
| Eb Dm7/A | Gm Gm7 Gm | Eb Dm7/A | Gm Gm7 |
They say they want to bring me in guilty, for the killing of a deputy,
| Eb Dm7 Dm | Gm/D |
for the life of a deputy. But I say.
Instrumental 1
||: G Minor Pentatonic riff :|| 2/4 Gm |
Chorus 2
Oh, now, now. Oh! (I shot the sheriff.) – the sheriff, but I swear it was in self-defense. Oh, no! (Ooh, ooh, oo-oh)
Yeah! I say: I shot the sheriff – Oh, Lord! – And they say it is a capital offense. Yeah! (Ooh, ooh, oo-oh) Yeah!
Verse 2
Sheriff John Brown always hated me, for what, I don’t know.
Every time I plant a seed, he said, “kill it before it grow”.
He said, “kill them before they grow”.
Instrumental 2 (as instrumental 1)
And so, read it in the news.
Chorus 3
(I shot the sheriff.) Oh, Lord! But I swear it was in self-defence, where was the deputy? (Oo-oo-oh).
I say: I shot the sheriff, but I swear it was in self-defence. (Oo-oh) Yeah!
Verse 3
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.
Instrumental 3 (longer)
||: G Minor Pentatonic riff :|| Gm | Gm |
If I am guilty I will pay.
Chorus 4
(I shot the sheriff), but I say (But I didn’t shoot no deputy). I didn’t shoot no deputy (oh, no-oh), oh no!
(I shot the sheriff) I did! But I didn’t shoot no deputy. Oh! (Oo-oo-ooh).
Verse 4
Reflexes had got 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, I say.
Instrumental 4 (as instrumental 1, no lyrics)
||: G Minor Pentatonic riff :|| 2/4 Gm |
Chorus 5
I – I – I – I shot the sheriff. Lord, I didn’t shot the deputy.
I – I (shot the sheriff). But I didn’t shoot no deputy, yeah! No, yeah.
End
||: Gm | Cm Cm7 Cm Cm7 | Gm7 Gm Gm7 | Gm7 Gm Gm7 :|| x3
| Gm | Cm |
I Shot The Sheriff Chords: Learn the progressions
These are I Shot The Sheriff’s chorus chords:
| Gm | Cm (Cm7) | Gm7 (Gm) | Gm7 (Gm) |
The chord in brackets indicates that the chord is added, and then taken away. Using Roman Numerals, the Gm is VI, and the Cm is II. As the weight is on the Gm chord, we can say the verse is in Aeolian.
The verse chord progression starts on chord IV, making us feel as we move on. Often, we play a Dm7/A instead of Dm7, check the video at the top of this page to hear the subtle difference it makes.
Here are I Shot The Sheriff’s verse chords:
| Eb (IV) Dm7 (III) | Gm7 (VI) |
||: Eb Dm7/A | Gm7 :|| x3
| Eb Dm7 Dm | Gm/D |
The Eb is Lydian, making the verse feel as if it “takes off”. As we land/resolve on the Gm chord, we can say the verse is also in Aeolian.
I Shot The Sheriff’s legendary instrumental section is a Minor Pentatonic riff. Compare it to Stevie Wonder’s Master Blaster, a tune written as a tribute to Bob Marley.
Here’s a chord chart I made for you, the instrumental section has been written as N.C. as there are no chords.
I Shot The Sheriff Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
The chord chart above has four sections, the chorus (section A), the verse (section B), the instrumental section (section C), and the end (section D).
The complex part is how long we wait at the end of the instrumental section. Can you tell how it is the 3rd time we wait longer before going to a chorus?
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: I Shot The Sheriff Chord Chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: I Shot The Sheriff iReal Pro.
Using the app, you can change the key and alter the layout of the arrangement.
Below you get a preview of the course where we develop the bass line of the chorus, and find many ways to play the chords in conjunction with the bass. We also work on the vocal melody.
All this work will eventually lead to you playing I Shot The Sheriff in an improvised way, incorporating all these elements.
I Shot The Sheriff TAB | Course Preview
My one acoustic guitar arrangement of I Shot The Sheriff is inspired by the original Bob Marley recording.
Great care had to be taken 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, I feel like I learned so much!
I did this as the various recordings Bob made of I Shot The Sheriff are a treasure with so much music in them.
Above, you find a play-along TAB loop which is the original bass line. As the bass is the most important instrument in this song, we must start with it.
Later, we combine the bass line with the chords for the chorus. Here’s TAB for the basic bass line:
As you can see, this is just that bass line from the original recording, start with learning this (use the TAB loop above).
In the course, we develop this bass line by adding chords to it, even varying the way the bass line is played.
In the course, you get play-along TAB loops for all sections, we also play the vocal melody, in harmony!
Here’s a link to the 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: I Shot The Sheriff – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
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 (1974). This 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 Chords | Related Pages
I Shot The Sheriff | 8 Step-by-step Guitar Lessons + TAB
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, we also play the vocal melody, in harmony!
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
Eric Clapton tunes
As well as a member of bands like Derek & The Dominos, The Yardbirds, and Cream, Eric 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 on the web
Bob Marley tunes
Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, guitarist, and activist. Few artists have had such widespread recognition.
As the most widely known performer of reggae music, Bob Marley is also regarded by many as a prophet of the Rastafarian religion.
Bob Marley on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about I Shot The Sheriff chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
