I SHOT THE SHERIFF Chords & Guitar Lesson
Welcome to my I Shot The Sheriff chord chart by Eric Clapton. This is a great song written by Bob Marley and then later covered by Eric Clapton. I really like the Clapton version so that’s what I’ve chosen to do here.
Now this song is not an easy song as it uses all barre chords. I would even play the Dm chord as a barre chord as well. This is great practice for you to work on moving barre chords around the neck of the guitar.
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I SHOT THE SHERIFF Guitar Chords:
I SHOT THE SHERIFF Strumming Patterns:
The strumming has a very reggae feel to it which means we are going to be accenting the up strums.
Easier Strumming:
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
U U U U
Harder Strumming:
1 + a 2 + 3 +a 4+
XDU X D X DU XD
If you are a beginner and want something fun to play along with this song, you can try the main riff below:
Main Riff:
|------------------------------|
|------------------------------|
|------------------------------|
|--5--3------------------------|
|--------5--3--1--5--3--1-------|
|-------------------------- 3---|
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I SHOT THE SHERIFF Guitar Lesson:
I SHOT THE SHERIFF Chord Chart:
Chorus:
Gm Cm Gm Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy
Gm Cm Gm Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy
Verse:
|Cm Dm| Gm
All around in my home town
|Cm Dm| Gm
They're trying to track me down
|Cm Dm| Gm
They say they want to bring me in guilty
|Cm Dm| Gm
For the killing of a deputy
|Cm Dm| Gm Main Riff
For the life of a deputy But I say?
Verse:
|Cm Dm| Gm
Sheriff John Brown always hated me
|Cm Dm | Gm
For what I don’t know
|Cm Dm| Gm
And every time I plant a seed
|Cm Dm| Gm
He said “kill it before it grows”.
| Cm Dm| Gm Main Riff
He said “kill it before it grows”. I say!
Chorus:
Gm Cm Gm Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I swear it was in self-defense.
Gm Cm Gm Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I say it was in self-defense.
Verse:
|Cm Dm| Gm
Freedom came my way one day
|Cm Dm| Gm
And I started out of town yeah
|Cm Dm| Gm
All of a sudden I see sheriff John Brown
|Cm Dm| Gm
Aiming to shoot me down
|Cm Dm| Gm Main Riff
So I shot, I shot him down I say!
Chorus:
Gm Cm Gm Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy
Gm Cm Gm Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy
Verse:
|Cm Dm| Gm
Reflexes got the better of me
|Cm Dm| Gm
And what is to be must be
|Cm Dm| Gm
Every day the bucket falls to the well
|Cm Dm| Gm
But one day the bottom will drop out
|Cm Dm| Gm Main Riff
Yes, one day the bottom will drop out But I say
Chorus:
Gm Cm Gm Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy Oh no
Gm Cm Gm Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy Oh no
Outro:
|Cm Dm| Gm
|Cm Dm| Gm
This file is the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It’s intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.
We do not distribute printable chord and lyrics charts. These charts are here only to support online learning. We highly recommend buying music from Hal Leonard or a reputable online sheet music store.