I Shot The Sheriff Chords

by Bob Marley & The Wailers
1,190,223 views, added to favorites 25,642 times
Difficulty: intermediate
Tuning: E A D G B E
Capo: no capo
Author cLuMsY [a] 9,689.
1 contributor total, last edit on Apr 12, 2024
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Chords

Gm
Cm
Eb
Dm7

Strumming

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...I SHOT THE SHERIFF... by Bob Marley
------------------------..............
 
*from 'Burnin'' (1973)*
 
 
[Chorus 1]
 
Gm
 I shot the sheriff,
Cm                     Gm
 But I didn't shoot no deputy, oh no! Oh!
Gm
 I shot the sheriff,
Cm                     Gm
 But I didn't shoot no deputy. Ooh, ooh, oo-ooh.
 
 
[Verse 1]
 
Eb     Dm7      Gm
 All a-round in my home town,
        Eb        Dm7      Gm
They're tryin' to track me down;
Eb             Dm7                 Gm
 They say they want to bring me in guilty,
        Eb           Dm7  Gm
For the killing of a depu-ty,
        Eb        Dm7 Gm
For the life of a dep-uty. But I say...
 
 
*(Riff):
 
e|-------------------------|
B|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|
D|--5-3--------------------|
A|-------5-3-----5-3-------|
E|------------6-------6-3--|
 
 
[Chorus 2]
 
Gm
 I shot the sheriff,
Cm                     Gm
 But I swear it was in self-defence. (Oh, no! Yeah!)
       Gm                     Cm
I say; I shot the sheriff, oh Lord!
                     Gm
And they say it is a capital offence. Yeah!
 
 
[Verse 2]
 
Eb       Dm7               Gm
 Sheriff John Brown always hated me,
    Eb     Dm7      Gm
For what... I don't know.
      Eb     Dm7     Gm
Every time I plant a seed,
        Eb         Dm7     Gm
He said kill it be-fore it grow,
        Eb           Dm7       Gm
He said kill them be-fore they grow. And so, and so...
 
*(Riff):
 
e|-------------------------|
B|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|
D|--5-3--------------------|
A|-------5-3-----5-3-------|
E|------------6-------6-3--|
 
(Read it in the news!)
 
 
[Chorus 3]
 
Gm
 I shot the sheriff,
Cm                     Gm
 But I swear it was in self-defence. I say;
Gm
 I shot the sheriff,
Cm                     Gm
 But I swear it was in self-defence. (Yeah!)
 
 
[Verse 3]
 
Eb               Dm7     Gm
 Freedom came my way one day,
      Eb      Dm7     Gm
And I started, out of town, yeah!
Eb        Dm7          Gm
 All of a sudden I saw Sheriff John Brown,
Eb         Dm7      Gm
 Aiming to shoot me down,
     Eb      Dm7              Gm
So I shot, I shot, I shot him down. And I say...
 
*(Riff):
 
e|-------------------------|
B|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|
D|--5-3--------------------|
A|-------5-3-----5-3-------|
E|------------6-------6-3--|
 
(If I am guilty, I will pay)...
 
 
[Chorus 4]
 
Gm
 I shot the sheriff,
Cm                     Gm
 But I didn't shoot no deputy, oh no! Oh!
Gm
 I shot the sheriff,
Cm                     Gm
 But I didn't shoot no deputy. Ooh, ooh, oo-ooh.
 
 
[Verse 4]
 
   Eb             Dm7       Gm
Re-flexes had the better of me,
    Eb         Dm7     Gm
And what is to be must be.
      Eb       Dm7           Gm
Every day, the bucket a-go a-well,
Eb           Dm7         Gm
 One day the bottom a-go drop out,
Eb           Dm7         Gm
 One day the bottom a-go drop out.
 
*(Riff):
 
e|-------------------------|
B|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|
D|--5-3--------------------|
A|-------5-3-----5-3-------|
E|------------6-------6-3--|
 
(I say)...
 
 
[Chorus 5]
 
    Gm
I-I-I, I shot the sheriff,
Cm                            Gm
 Lord, I didn't shot the depu-ty. No!
  Gm
I-I...(shot the sheriff),
Cm                     Gm
 But I didn't shoot no deputy. Yeah! So, yeah!
 
 
[Coda]
 
Gm  Cm
Gm
 
(Repeat to Fade)
 
 
CHORD DIAGRAMS:
---------------
 
   Gm      Cm      Eb      Dm7
 EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE
 355333  x35543  x68886  x57565
 
Tabbed by Joel from cLuMsY, Bristol, England, 2004 (clumsyband@hotmail.com)
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I Shot The Sheriff – Bob Marley
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"I Shot The Sheriff"
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23 comments
findthis_1
Seems damn accurate to me. The morons that have commented on this tab apparently do not have a good ear for music. You can look up any lesson on YouTube and it will show to play it just like this. Or you can watch clapton play it live and also see that he plays it this way as well. Great job.
+15
Balin le Savage
Its absolutely correct. I play the Eb in the 3rd fret. Sound better on my guitar.
+2
Hannz
the Bm7's during the verse are supposed to be normal Bm except for the last one. Apart from that very nice tab. 98% correct :)
+1