Eric Clapton - I Shot the Sheriff - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords Gm, Eb7, Dm7, Cm7, Cm Easy key B

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Capo 0

Gm              Cm
I shot the sheriff
Cm              Gm     Gm Gm Gm
But I did not shoot the deputy
Gm              Cm
I shot the sheriff
Cm              Gm     Gm Gm Gm
But I did not shoot the deputy

Eb7     Dm7     Gm       Gm
All around in my old town
Eb7       Dm7       Gm   Gm
They're trying to track me down
Eb7            Dm7    Gm     Gm
They say they want to bring me in guilty
Eb7           Dm7     Gm  Gm
For the killing of a deputy
Eb7          Dm7     Gm  Gm
For the life of a deputy

Gm               Cm7                Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy
Gm               Cm7                Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy

Eb7      Dm7      Gm
Sheriff John Brown always hated me
Eb7   Dm7        Gm
For what I don't know
Eb7   Dm7        Gm
Every time that I plant a seed
Eb7            Dm7        Gm
He said "Kill it before it grows"
Eb7            Dm7        Gm
He said "Kill it before it grows"

Gm               Cm7                 Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I swear it was in self defense
Gm               Cm7                  Gm
I shot the sheriff, and they say it is a capital offense

Eb7   Dm7      Gm
Freedom came my way one day
Eb7    Dm7     Gm
And I started out of town
Eb7       Dm7        Gm
All of a sudden I see sheriff John Brown
Eb7    Dm7     Gm
Aiming to shoot me down
Eb7     Dm7          Gm
So I shot, I shot him down

Gm               Cm7                Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy
Gm               Cm7                Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy

Eb7     Dm7        Gm
Reflexes got the better of me
Eb7    Dm7        Gm
And what is to be must be
Eb7     Dm7          Gm
Every day the bucket falls to the well
Eb7         Dm7        Gm
But one day the bottom will drop out
Eb7        Dm7           Gm
Yes, one day the bottom will drop out

Gm               Cm7                Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy
Gm               Cm7                Gm
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy

End of song Play again?

Eric Clapton - I Shot the Sheriff Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Eric Clapton – I Shot the Sheriff: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Gm and ends on Gm. Its chords belong to both A major and F#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

A major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = G# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = D (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

F# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = D (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = E (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between A major and F# minor. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to A or to F#m; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Seen from A major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	A	Tonic — home	A · C# · E	—
ii	Bm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F#	—
biii7	Cm7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · Eb · G · Bb	8×
biii	Cm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · Eb · G	4×
iii	C#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C# · E · G#	—
III	C#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · E# · G#	—
IV	D	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A	—
iv7	Dm7	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	D · F · A · C	20×
#IV7	Eb7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · G · Bb · Db	20×
V	E	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	—
vi	F#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F# · A · C#	—
bvii	Gm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · Bb · D	51×
vii°	G#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G# · B · D	—

Seen from F# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	F#m	Tonic — home	F# · A · C#	—
bii	Gm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · Bb · D	51×
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	—
iv	Bm	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F#	—
#iv7	Cm7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · Eb · G · Bb	8×
#iv	Cm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · Eb · G	4×
v	C#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	C# · E · G#	—
V	C#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C# · E# · G#	—
VI	D	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A	—
vi7	Dm7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F · A · C	20×
#VI7	Eb7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · G · Bb · Db	20×
VII	E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	—

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 5 different chords appear 103 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Dm7 is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

There's no textbook cadence here; the chords circle around each other in a loop, so the song feels more like a groove than a series of arrivals.

Improvisation tips

A major pentatonic and F# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (A – B – C# – E – F#): start from A for a brighter phrase, from F# for a bluesier one.
Over Gm, land on G, Bb, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Eb7, land on Eb, G, Bb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Dm7, land on D, F, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On Dm7, follow the chord's notes (D · F · A · C) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.

The song on the circle of fifths

Played in the song — chord of the key
Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
Played — borrowed or outside chord
Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii

Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.

Capo and easier keys

With A major shapes

No capo — open A shapes
Capo 2 + G shapes
Capo 5 + E shapes

With F# minor shapes

Capo 2 + Em shapes
Capo 4 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

2 semitones up
3 semitones down · capo 3 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening Gm lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is Gm, Eb7, Dm7, Cm7 — bvii–#IV7–iv7–biii7 from the A side, bii–#VI7–vi7–#iv7 from the F#m side. Dm7 briefly darkens the picture: minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minor. Ending on Gm, the song seals A as home.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.