I Shot the Sheriff The anti-authoritative lyrics hit at the core of the status quo.

Bob Marley’s song I Shot the Sheriff

Ooh, ooh, ooh. Yeah.

Sheriff Brown always hated me

For what I don’t know

Every time I plant a seed he said ‘Kill it before it grows’

He said ‘Kill them before they grow’

And so, and so

Read it in the news …

The version of Bob Marley’s song that was redone by Eric Clapton was ironically more popular on Jamaican radio than Bob’s version was. The anti-authoritative lyrics hit at the core of the status quo. The sentiments were even seen as being a direct challenge to the state with the violent and deadly attack that it seemed to promote.

However in it’s more figurative sense, it is assumed that Bob Marley’s lyrics were more directed towards highlighting the oppressive and brutal attitude that state agencies such as the police force had taken towards marijuana smoking Rastafarians, ‘kill them before they grow’.

Shooting the sheriff and not the deputy can be interpreted as a symbolic move of cutting through the red tape and attacking the establishment at the head. The deputy holds no power and is seen as being under the control of the more powerful sheriff.

In an interview Bob stated that he shot the sheriff and not the police, hitting at his Jamaican detractors who were perturbed by the so called violent nature of the lyrics. Is there a distinction to be made between the police and the sheriff? Yes, apparently by distinguishing between the police and the United States based sheriff Bob is moving beyond the local authorities and directly attacking the imperialist United States authorities that the sheriff would represent.

Bob Marley’s song I Shot the Sheriff


I shot the sheriff sound track

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