Context

This famous line is a lyric in the song "I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley & the Wailers (on the album Burnin', 1973).

In 1973, Bob Marley, king of the protest song, wrote lyrics about a narrator shooting a sheriff. He plainly admits to it: "I shot the sheriff," he says. But he swears it was in self-defense.

The sheriff always hated him, according to the narrator, and was out to kill him. So is this a song about racial profiling by the police, or, as some have claimed, a song about birth control? Yes, birth control. 

With either interpretation, the song still resonates today.

Where you've heard it

You've probably heard Eric Clapton's cover of the song, which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003.

Additional Notable References

• On the show Ellen, when Ellen pretends to be Lola Bigcups, the stripper, for her cousin Spence's mock trial, she describes her "I Shot the Sheriff" routine.
• It was also covered by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs...
• ...and parodied on Family Guy.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

The pretention of the quote depends on the number of Bob Marley black-light posters you have up in your dorm room.