i shot the sheriff but i didn t shoot no deputy i shot the sheriff but i didn t shoot no deputy all around in my own 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 i shot the sheriff but i swear it was in self defense i shot the sheriff and they say it is a capital offense 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 them before they grow i say i shot the sheriff but i swear it was in self defense i shot the sheriff but i swear it was in self defense all around in my own 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 freedom came my way one day and i started out of town all of a sudden i saw sheriff brown aiming to shoot me down so i shot i shot shot him down i shot the motherf er down i shot the sheriff but i did not shoot the deputy i shot the sheriff but i did not shoot the deputy