I shot the sheriff but I did not shoot the deputy.
I shot the sheriff but I did not shoot the 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-defence.
I shot the sheriff and they say it is a capital offence.
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 it before it grows'.
But I say
I shot the sheriff but I swear it was in self-defence.
I shot the sheriff but I swear it was in self-defence.
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 him down.
But I say
I shot the sheriff but I did no