I Shot The Readers, But I Didn't Shoot The Spinner Zine

"I shot the sheriff. But I didn't shoot no deputy"

So I’m surfing and stumble upon Spinner's online reader pole for, ’20 Worst Song Lyrics Ever’. At number 20 Bob Marley’s ‘I Shot The Sheriff’ is listed for the lyrics, "I shot the sheriff But I didn't shoot no deputy". The site posted a comment I suppose, at random from the many there must have been to conclude that in fact Bob’s lyrics to ‘I Shot The Sheriff’ belonged on this list. Lisa from Long Island had this to say, ‘Who gives a crap, you're still going to jail!!!’. Now, here’s what I’m thinking. 3 possible reasons immediately came to mind as to why a person would make such a statement. The first, let’s blame it on sheer ignorance. A lack of understanding of what the song really meant. Next, there’s a possibility that like many songs that we hear or claim to know for years, this particular individual never actually listened to more of the lyrics, then those famous introductory words. Lastly, Lisa may just be a mean, hateful person who does indeed understand the lyrics but really doesn’t care about the situation in the song discussed. Who gives a crap? Plain and simple. What’s really disconcerting and disheartening to me is the fact that this was a pole meaning not only one, but a number of people voted in agreement. In closing, all I can say is, this is truly sad.


Bob Marley
»
I Shot The Sheriff


(I shot the sheriff
But I didn't shoot no deputy, oh no! Oh!
I shot the sheriff
But I didn't shoot no deputy, ooh, ooh, oo-ooh.)
Yeah! All around in my home town,
They're tryin' 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:

Oh, now, now. Oh!
(I shot the sheriff.) - the sheriff.
(But I swear it was in selfdefence.)
Oh, no! (Ooh, ooh, oo-oh) Yeah!
I say: I shot the sheriff - Oh, Lord! -
(And they say it is a capital offence.)
Yeah! (Ooh, ooh, oo-oh) Yeah!

Sheriff John Brown always hated me,
For what, I don't know:
Every time I plant a seed,
He said kill it before it grow -
He said kill them before they grow.
And so:
[ Lyrics by: Rare-Lyrics.com ]

Read it in the news:
(I shot the sheriff.) Oh, Lord!
(But I swear it was in self-defence.)
Where was the deputy? (Oo-oo-oh)
I say: I shot the sheriff,
But I swear it was in selfdefence. (Oo-oh) Yeah!

Freedom came my way one day
And I started out of town, yeah!
All of a sudden I saw 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 say (But I didn't shoot no deputy),
I didn't shoot no deputy (oh, no-oh), oh no!
(I shot the sheriff.) I did!
But I didn't shoot no deputy. Oh! (Oo-oo-ooh)

Reflexes had got the better of me
And what is to be must be:
Every day the bucket a-go a well,
One day the bottom a-go drop out,
One day the bottom a-go drop out.
I say:

I - I - I - I shot the sheriff.
Lord, I didn't shot the deputy. Yeah!
I - I (shot the sheriff) -
But I didn't shoot no deputy, yeah! No, yeah!