Shakira & Fuerza Regida Sing About the Abuse of Power in ‘El Jefe’: Here Are the Lyrics in English

In September, Shakira and Fuerza Regida joined forces for “El Jefe” (“The Boss”), a catchy corrido-meets-ska track about being tired of their 9-to-5 jobs and the desire to become their own bosses. 

“It’s a Mexican ska, and it sounds very fresh, very original, very punk in a way. It has tons of energy […] it’s about abuse of power,” the Colombian superstar previously told Billboard of the collab. “We had the song and thought, ‘Oy, who could we get for this?’ and we thought of Fuerza Regida. JOP’s voice is very special. We wrote him, and he flew in the following day from Los Angeles and we recorded it in three days.” 

“El Jefe” — which is dedicated to Lili Melgar, the nanny of Shakira’s sons Milan and Sasha — reached No. 1 on the Billboard Latin Airplay chart this week (Nov. 18), becoming the artist’s 21st leader, giving her the most No. 1s among women since the chart launched in 1994. This marks the Mexican-American group’s second No. 1 title on the tally. 

In honor of Shak and Regida’s new No. 1, check out the lyrics of “El Jefe” translated to English below: 

7:30, the alarm has gone off
I want to be in bed
But it can’t be done
I’m taking the kids at nine

The same coffee, the same food
Always the same thing, the same routine
Another sh—y day
Another day at the office

I have a sh—y boss who doesn’t pay me well.
I arrive walking and he arrives in a Mercedes-Benz
He has me as a recruit
That son of a b—h, yeah

You’re dreaming of leaving the hood
You have everything to be a millionaire
Expensive taste, the mentality
All you need is the salary

The bills are adding up, being poor sucks
Mom always told me that studying everything is ensured
I studied and nothing happened, d–n life’s so hard
I work harder than a bastard, but I screw less than a priest
What irony, what madness, this is a torture

You kill yourself from dawn to dusk and don’t have a deed
They say that there is no evil that lasts more than a hundred years
But there’s my ex-father-in-law who hasn’t set foot in the grave.

I have a sh—y boss who doesn’t pay me well.
I arrive walking and he arrives in a Mercedes-Benz
He has me as a recruit
That son of a b—h, yeah

You’re dreaming of leaving the hood
You have everything to be a millionaire
Expensive taste, the mentality
All you need is the salary

Lili Melgar
This song is for you, that they didn’t pay you compensation

You’re dreaming of leaving the hood
You have everything to be a millionaire
Expensive taste, the mentality
All you need is the salary