Chorus:
Gm
I shot the sheRiff,
CmGm
But I didn't shoot no deputy, oh no! Oh!
Gm
I shot the sheRiff,
CmGm
But I didn't shoot no deputy. Ooh, ooh, oo-ooh.
Verse:
EbDm7Gm
All a-round in my home town,
EbDm7Gm
They're tryin' to track me down;
EbDm7Gm
They say they want to bring me in guilty,
EbDm7Gm
For the killing of a depu-ty,
EbDm7Gm
For the life of a dep-uty. But I say...
Riff:
xA|--10-8--5-3-----5-3-------|
xE|-------------6-------6-3--|
xC|--------------------------|
xG|--------------------------|
Chorus:
Gm
I shot the sheRiff,
CmGm
But I swear it was in self-defence. - Oh, no! Yeah! -
GmCm
I say; I shot the sheRiff, oh Lord!
Gm
And they say it is a capital offence. Yeah!
Verse:
EbDm7Gm
SheRiff John Brown always hated me,
EbDm7Gm
For what... I don't know.
EbDm7Gm
Every time I plant a seed,
EbDm7Gm
He said kill it be-fore it grow,
EbDm7Gm
He said kill them be-fore they grow. And so, and so...
Riff:
xA|--10-8--5-3-----5-3-------|
xE|-------------6-------6-3--|
xC|--------------------------|
xG|--------------------------|
- Read it in the news! -
Chorus:
Gm
I shot the sheRiff,
CmGm
But I swear it was in self-defence. I say;
Gm
I shot the sheRiff,
CmGm
But I swear it was in self-defence. - Yeah! -
Verse:
EbDm7Gm
Freedom came my way one day,
EbDm7Gm
And I started, out of town, yeah!
EbDm7Gm
All of a sudden I saw SheRiff John Brown,
EbDm7Gm
Aiming to shoot me down,
EbDm7Gm
So I shot, I shot, I shot him down. And I say...
Riff:
xA|--10-8--5-3-----5-3-------|
xE|-------------6-------6-3--|
xC|--------------------------|
xG|--------------------------|
- If I am guilty, I will pay -...
Chorus:
Gm
I shot the sheRiff,
CmGm
But I didn't shoot no deputy, oh no! Oh!
Gm
I shot the sheRiff,
CmGm
But I didn't shoot no deputy. Ooh, ooh, oo-ooh.
Verse:
EbDm7Gm
Re-flexes had the better of me,
EbDm7Gm
And what is to be must be.
EbDm7Gm
Every day, the bucket a-go a-well,
EbDm7Gm
One day the bottom a-go drop out,
EbDm7Gm
One day the bottom a-go drop out.
Riff:
xA|--10-8--5-3-----5-3-------|
xE|-------------6-------6-3--|
xC|--------------------------|
xG|--------------------------|
- I say -...
Chorus:
Gm
I-I-I, I shot the sheRiff,
CmGm
Lord, I didn't shot the depu-ty. No!
Gm
I-I...- shot the sheRiff -,
CmGm
But I didn't shoot no deputy. Yeah! So, yeah!
Outro - repeat and fade -: Gm Cm, Gm
Bob Marley (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981), born Nesta Robert Marley which was later to be changed by passport officials to Robert Nesta Marley, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist. He was the most widely known writer and performer of Reggae, and more specifically Roots Reggae. He is famous for popularising the genre outside of Jamaica and the Caribbean. Much of his music dealt with the struggles of the spiritually wealthy rasta and/or spiritually powerful Jah Rastafari.
