Critical Reaction to Bob Marley’s song “I Shot the Sherriff,” Woody Guthrie’s “Pretty Boy Floyd” and Body Count’s Cop Killer
Bob Marley, in his song “I Shot the Sherriff,” describes a scenario in which the narrator has shot the sheriff. The opening and closing lyrics of the song’s chorus repeats the incidence of the shooting that left the deputy. Marley describes how the sheriff’s killing took place (Bob Marley Song, 2008). It does not mention anything about the deputy sheriff. Interestingly, the narrator describes that his charges are mainly for killing the deputy, a context that the song does not provide ultimately. The chorus reads that “I shot the sheriff, and not the deputy, who has also been shot and killed.” The contradictory perspectives of the song portray the absence of a logical sense in the entire scenario.
Woody Guthrie, in the song “Pretty Boy Floyd,” also portrays a controversial subject, which is the same as Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff.” Guthrie commences the song with a narration of Floyd getting into a fight. In the course of the fight, the deputy uses a vulgar language in front of Floyd’s wife, which makes Floyd upset (Inman, 2012). Consequently, Floyd “laid that deputy down.” After the incident, he chooses to flee to a country nearly everyone blamed him for various crimes. It is interesting that other than writing about the unfortunate event, Guthrie focuses on another that criticizes the society and not the man. The perspective is comparable to the Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff,” which does not address the killed the deputy, but other societal perspectives. It is noticeable that both songs use the deputy as the common factor of reference.
Body Count’s Cop Killer describes an incident in which the storyteller gets out to go to kill a cop. It portrays a cop hater who even though is breaking the law does not view the cop as good people in the society. According to the narrator, he intends to outsmart the cops (Onyx070, 2012). According to the writer of the song, the end to the brutality of the police is attacking and killing them. Just like in “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Pretty Boy Floyd,” the song also addresses the subject of murder. Both the three songs are controversial as they call upon the people to act upon a particular select people in the society. All three songs address a violent disagreement between a citizen and a law enforcement officers. They all create an anti-authoritarian and rebellious sentiment among the citizens.
The three songs also have distinct differences. Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” focuses on championing for justice in society. It addresses the elements of wickedness in society. The song portrays an aspect of self-defense. The false accusation of killing a deputy sheriff in the song enhances the fight against corruption and injustice. The song may also portray Bob Marley’s belief on birth control as a sin (Bob Marley Song, 2008). In this perspective, his anger towards doctors who prescribed birth control for his girlfriend emerges.
On the contrary, Woody Guthrie describes a situation in which he protests how the police handle the citizens. He is against police brutality even for those disobey the laws. According to him, the police are generally corrupt (Inman, 2012). On the other end, Body Count’s Cop Killer is an expression of rage over the system that is at the frontline of protecting racist police officers. The opponents view the incident as undermining law enforcement. Ice-T emerges as a voice of reason in the controversy. It addresses the issues the black people face in a system that white law enforcers dominate.
Bob Marley says, “I Shot the Sheriff” from a first-person perspective to give the storyteller the sole role to explain the meaning of the song. The song does not make any logical meaning to any person apart from Marley. Marley shot a sheriff, but he is accused of shooting and murdering a deputy. The incident depicts a situation where the narrator admits to shooting and killing a person in the office of the sheriff (Bob Marley Song, 2008). It is noticeable that the sheriff did not like the narrator, which led to doing all it takes to bring justice.
Law enforcement figures are “good guys.” In the songs, the violent actions begin from the citizens who believe they can handle the police. The police address the issues affecting society within their capacity. The citizens, on the other hand, develop an attack on the police.
In the three songs, there is distinguishable action that precipitates the violence. In the Cop Killer, the lyrics of the song are based on a verdict in which a camera captured four police officers beating Rodney King in Los Angeles. The verdict acquitted the police officers ensuing a protest. The Cop Killer emerged as a song to express the rage of King supporters over systems that offer protection to racist officers. Guthrie’s Pretty Boy Floyd arose from an arrest of Floyd at the age of 18 years since he stole money from a post office (Leary, 1974). Later on, Floyd engaged in more significant crimes in multiple states. The law enforcement officers pursued and killed in 1934. Several people attended the burial. Floyd Guthrie released the song to portray that the police officers blaming Floyd for even those crimes he did not commit (Leary, 1974). The song later emerged as a story of not only Floyd but also many young people who were facing charges from crimes they did not commit. It precipitated the violence. In Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff,” the violence ensued as the narrator attempted to defend himself from the police attack. The narrator faces a false accusation of killing the deputy. He ends up shooting and killing the sheriff in self-defense.
Many people perceive the songs as compositions meant to spur disobedience to the law enforcement officers. Each of the songs described instances in which the citizen got into a disagreement with the law-enforcing officers to the extent of killing them. In Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff,” several individuals reacted as if the song insinuated that it is in order to shoot a police officer in self-defense. The Cop Killer faced controversies among The Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, calling for its boycott in 1992 (Onyx070, 2012). However, the people got interested in its controversy. Subsequently, several people bought the album. The mainstream culture ignored the issues addressed in these songs. Instead, they implemented strict laws for these violent actions.
The songs create rough conditions. In many instances, people observe the literal meaning of the song and do not analyze it to understand its deeper meaning. The lyrics of the songs contain detrimental information. For example, the title of Marley’s song, at a glance, demonstrates a situation that establishes the possibility of shooting a sheriff in pursuit of self-defense. Body Count’s Cop Killer also demonstrates that a person can strike to kill a cop even if he is on the wrong. However, Guthrie’s Pretty Boy Floyd does not create a violent condition as it depicts the need for justice in handling those who break the law (Leary, 1974). The protest shows a worthy action in pursuit of justice for many people who face false accusations.
References
Bob Marley Song. (2008). Bob Marley – I Shot the Sheriff [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/2XiYUYcpsT4
Inman, D. (2012, September 28). Woody Guthrie, “Pretty boy Floyd” « American songwriter. American Songwriter. https://americansongwriter.com/woody-guthrie-pretty-boy-floyd/
Leary, J. (1974). “Pretty boy Floyd,” An Aberrant Outlaw Ballad. Popular Music and Society, 3(3), 215-226.
Onyx070. (2012). Ice-T – Cop Killer (Lyrics) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Tgzo1fC49RY