I Shot the Sheriff

Infobox Single
Name = I Shot the Sheriff


Artist = Bob Marley
from Album = Burnin'
A-side =
B-side =
Released = 1973
Format = 12"
Recorded = Harry J. Studios, Kingston, Jamaica, April 1973
Genre = Reggae
Length = 4:41
Label = Tuff Gong Records/Island Records
Writer = Bob Marley
Producer = Chris Blackwell and The Wailers
Certification =
Chart position =
Last single =
This single =
Next single =

"I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Bob Marley. The song was first released on The Wailers' album "Burnin'".

Eric Clapton recorded a cover version that was included on his album, "461 Ocean Boulevard". It is the most successful version of the song, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

: "I want to say 'I shot the police' but the government would have made a fuss so I said 'I shot the sheriff' instead... but it's the same idea: justice." " — Bob Marley [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20051210083237/http://www.bobmarley.com/songs/songs.cgi?sheriff I Shot the Sheriff ] ]

During the controversy over the Body Count song "Cop Killer", it was frequently pointed out that there were no similar complaints about Marley's song even though they had similar themes. [cite web |url=http://www.axt.org.uk/HateMusic/Rappin.htm |title=Rap, cops, and crime: clarifying the 'cop killer' controversy |accessdate=2007-06-10 |last=Hamm |first=Mark |authorlink= |coauthors=Ferrell, Jeff |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

On EPMD's 1988 "Strictly Business" LP, the title track uses a sample of "I Shot the Sheriff" (Clapton's Version).

In 1997, rapper/producer Warren G covered the song for his "Take a Look over Your Shoulder (Reality)" album. This version peaked at #20 on the Hot 100. It hit #1 in New Zealand.

In 2000, the song has been covered in a ska-punk version by Voodoo Glow Skulls on their album "Symbolic". It was also covered by former "American Idol" contestant Jason Castro in 2008.

In 2004, Tom Morello, under his persona, The Nightwatchman, borrowed and changed lyrics from the song during his performance of Until the End, as part of the Axis of Justice Concert Series Volume 1. The lyrics he used were: "...three times I shot the sheriff; and did not spare the deputy". A studio version of the song was later released on his album One Man Revolution.

Ziggy Marley, Bob's son, makes what seems to be a reference to the song when he sings "I stop the deputy, now you know" on the track 'Be Free' from his 2006 album Love Is My Religion.

Both Inner Circle's "Bad Boys" and Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" refer to a "Sheriff John Brown". In "I Shot the Sheriff", Brown is the shooting victim; in "Bad Boys", one line asks "What'cha gonna do/When the Sheriff John Brown come for you"."

Cover versions in other languages

In popular culture

*In 2007, actor Will Smith sang the song in the movie "I Am Legend".
*In 2008, this song inspired a webisode in Seth McFarlane's "Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy" series. Titled "Why Bob Marley Should Not Have Acted As His Own Attorney", the five-minute short featured a caricature of Marley held for questioning by the police over the murder of a sheriff. The two policemen in the interrogation room ask questions spun out of the lyrics of "I Shot the Sheriff"; Marley only replies "Ja" to each question the officers ask. [http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=LOo9azW-R_Y]
*In 2008, Season 3 episode 12 of Supernatural. After being exorcized and realizing that he killed the town's sheriff, Agent Hendricksen says, "I shot the sheriff". Dean smiles and replies, "But you didn't shoot the deputy!"

References