El General Lyrics in English by Hadrian

Jerarquía refers to a system of levels or ranks, from lower to higher status. In the song, the narrator says he “subí de jerarquía,” meaning he climbed the ranks and rose to a more powerful position, making it a memorable word for describing ambition and social status.

Hadrian’s “El General” tells the story of a man who says poverty pushed him into crime. He describes losing a “chamaco” (a kid or young person), needing money to lift his family out of hardship, and promising his loved ones he would give them food and a better life. The line “hunger made me a mafioso” is blunt: he presents crime as a response to poverty, while also admitting that the money and respect came with danger. “Feria” means money in Mexican slang, and “the business is in the street” suggests that he learned this life outside the ordinary world of work.

The narrator now speaks like a powerful crime boss, claiming four states under his command and calling himself “the boss of bosses,” known as The General to his partners and friends. He says an armed group protects him, while he keeps risking his life to put “another plate of food” on his family’s table. There is a sharp warning in the line “the one who is friends with everyone is friends with no one,” along with the proud claim that nobody stopped him on the way up. Parties, corridos, money, rank, and danger all sit beside his love for his mother and family, making the song feel like a boastful confession from someone who sees power as both his reward and his armor.