I shot the sheriff
D | Wednesday, June 01, 2005

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So I was listening to the radio a few days ago and Eric Clapton really started to bug the shit out of me. "I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy." This statement, even as a classic of rock and roll whatever, bothers they hell out of me. The song is about a young guy, presumably Clapton, who is a standard trouble maker and who happens to be on the sheriff's bad side. One day, apparently after getting out of the joint, i.e. prison, the sheriff comes driving down the road looking to "gun-down" Clapton. Clapton, responding to the animal instincts in all of us, pulls out his GAT and pops a cap in the sheriff - but then says, "but I did not shoot the deputy." What? What the Hell? The deputy wasn't even in this story up until now. What's going on? Just look at all the questions I come up with:

1. You've never mentioned the guy - is the deputy shot at all? No. "I did not shot the deputy" and no one else did either. Shooting him didn't even cross my mind. He is walking around thinking about re-decorating the dead sheriff's office.

2. Maybe he is shot, but you think someone else did it? Good point. After I popped the sheriff, I took off running and one of my gang of criminals (also not mentioned in the song) shot him, "but I did not shoot the deputy."

3. Perhaps you wanted to but couldn't - the opportunity just didn't present itself? I would have shot that damn deputy, but I couldn't find him. Damn. Damn deputy.

4. What if you did want to kill him, but decided not to? Was this a measure of mercy? I had the deputy down on his knees, begging for his life, "but I did not shoot the deputy." I was thinking about future plea bargaining scenarios...

Clapton, what are you doing to me man?

D | 6/01/2005 11:11:00 PM | Post your comment

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Comments:

I think the song would have been better with "but I did not shoot the sheriff's mama." But that's just me.
 Ruvym | June 01, 2005 11:49 PM | permalink
 

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bob marley wrote the song, not eric clapton
 Anonymous | June 01, 2005 11:56 PM | permalink
 

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So apparently, the sheriff wanted to shoot Bob Marley because he was a trouble maker. That still doesn't answer those questions.

Ruvym, what does that even mean?
 D | June 02, 2005 2:08 AM | permalink
 

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I like to believe that the deputy is a rotund jovial sort of man compared with the grouchy demeanor of an underfed sheriff who for some unknown reason hordes what little power he has over the poor innocent souls he oppresses for his own enjoyment. Said evil sheriff attacked Bob/Eric (beric for short) and Beric was left with no choice but to retaliate in self defense.

The deputy who was present at the time, enjoying a donut, most likely of the jelly-filled persuasion, simply sat in the background watching events escalate more quickly than he would have desired. Beric gunned down the sheriff in self-defense but did nothing to the deputy since the sheriff's death was in self-defense.

Everyone knew the deputy would not attack so Beric's claim of self-defense is legitimized by the fact that the evil sheriff would most likely just go after beric irrationally thus forcing beric to protect himself. The argument goes, if Beric was maliciously killing the sheriff why not off the deputy as well.

Still, I don't know if there was second man who killed the deputy or if the deputy still lives. I assume the deputy is dead since beric doesn't sing:

I shot the sheriff, and I swear it was in self defense
I shot the sheriff, and you can go and ask the deputy

Therefore the deputy is dead and the only one heartless enough to kill such a jovial kind man is the sheriff. Who, with his dying breath, ripped the cherry-filled pastry from the donuts hand and screamed "you'd rather protect that guilty SOB than your own partner. You're a disgrace to the force!" The sheriff then shot the deputy with Beric's gun which he had dropped while fleaing the scene - framing Beric.


(not bad for making that up on the spot)
 Chris Welter | June 02, 2005 9:36 AM | permalink
 

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It doesn't mean anything; I tend to be nonsensical when I'm in a good mood:-)
 Ruvym | June 03, 2005 7:51 AM | permalink
 

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its obvious.



bob was smoken da herb
 grungesofa | January 16, 2008 7:42 PM | permalink
 

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