I Shot the Sheriff Lyrics

I shot the sheriff, but I didn't shoot no deputy
I shot the sheriff, but I didn't shoot no deputy

All around in my home town
They're trying to track me down.
They say they want to bring me in guilty
For the killing of a deputy,
For the life of a deputy.
But I say:

I shot the sheriff, but I swear it was in
self-defense.
I shot the sheriff, and they say it is a capital
offense.

Sheriff John Brown always hated me;
For what I don't know.
Every time that I plant a seed
He said, "Kill it before it grows."
He said, "Kill them before they grow."
I say:
I shot the sheriff, but I swear it was in
self-defense.
I shot the sheriff, but I swear it was in
self-defense.

Freedom came my way one day
And I started out of town.
All of a sudden I see sheriff John Brown
Aiming to shoot me down.
So I shot, I shot,I shot him down.
and I say:
if i am guilty i will pay

I shot the sheriff, but I didn't shoot no deputy
I shot the sheriff, but I didn't shoot no deputy

Reflexes got the better of me
And what is to be must be.
Every day the bucket goes to the well,
But one day the bottom will drop out,
Yes, one day the bottom will drop out.
But I say:

I shot the sheriff, but I didn't shoot no deputy, oh
no.
I shot the sheriff, but I didn't shoot no deputy, oh
no.