“El Rey”, meaning “the king” is a 1971 song by José Alfredo Jiménez. In 1973, Vicente Fernández released his powerful rendition and it became one of the most popular Mexican ranchera songs of all time. The theme of the lyrics is having the ability to maintain a “macho” and self-reliant image despite the lack of material wealth. This post explains the Spanish lyrics vocabulary and grammar.
Unlock the Meaning of “El Rey”: Spanish Lyrics and English Translation
El Rey Original Spanish lyrics and English translation
¡Ay, ah-ah, ay!
Ow, ah-ah, ow!
¡Ja, ja, ja, ay!
Ha, ha, ha, ow!
Dele, José Alfredo, túpele con ganas
Go on, José Alfredo, give it your all.
Yo sé bien que estoy afuera
I know well that I’m on the outside
Pero el día que yo me muera
But the day I die
Sé que tendrás que llorar
I know you’ll have to cry
Llorar y llorar, llorar y llorar
Cry and cry, cry and cry
Dirás que no me quisiste
You’ll say you didn’t love me
Pero vas a estar muy triste
But you’ll be very sad
Y así te vas a quedar
And you’ll stay that way
Con dinero y sin dinero
With or without money
Hago siempre lo que quiero
I always do what I want
Y mi palabra es la ley
And my word is the law
No tengo trono ni reina
I have no throne, no queen
Ni nadie que me comprenda
No one who understands me
Pero sigo siendo el rey
But I’m still the king
Sí, señor
Yes, sir.
Dale, José Alfredo, cántale con ganas a tus paisanos
Come on, José Alfredo, sing it out enthusiastically to your countrymen
¡Ah-ah-uah!
Una piedra del camino
A stone in the road
Me enseñó que mi destino
Taught me that my destiny
Era rodar y rodar
Was to travel and travel
Rodar y rodar, rodar y rodar
travel and travel, travel and travel
Después me dijo un arriero
Later, a muleteer told me
Que no hay que llegar primero
That you don’t have to arrive first
Pero hay que saber llegar
But you have to know how to arrive
Con dinero y sin dinero
With or without money
Hago siempre lo que quiero
I always do what I want
Y mi palabra es la ley
And my word is the law
No tengo trono ni reina
I have no throne, no queen
Ni nadie que me comprenda
No one who understands me
Pero sigo siendo el rey
But I’m still the king
El Rey vocabulary and grammar
| SPANISH | NOTES |
| Túpele con ganas | Informal phrase that encourages somebody to face a challenge. Túpear = to work hard, struggle, work hard |
| estoy afuera | I’m on the outside. Estoy = First-person singular of estar (to be); Afuera = outside, outdoors, |
| yo me muera | I die. Morirse is a reflexive verb meaning to die. |
| tendrás que llorar | You’ll have to cry. Tener que + infinitive means “to have to”. Tendrás is the tú form in the future tense. |
| Dirás que | You’ll say that. This is decir (to say) in the future tense. |
| me quisiste | You loved me. This is the verb querer (to want, to love) in conjugated in the preterite in the tú form. |
| vas a estar muy triste | You’ll be very sad. ir + a + infinitive is the near future or “going to” tense. |
| Y así | Literal translation is “and in this way” or “and like this” |
| Hago lo que quiero | Lo que is neuter relative pronoun used referring to an idea or concept and means “what”. |
| mi palabra es la ley | Literally “my word is the law”. |
| No tengo trono ni reina | I have no throne, no queen. The conjunction ni can translate to “nor” or “not even”. |
| Ni nadie que me comprenda | No one who understands me. Nadie (pronoun) = “nobody”. Comprenda = subjunctive of comprender (to understand). |
| sigo siendo el rey | I’m still the king. Seguir + present participle means “to continue + verb”. |
| Dale | Means “go ahead”, “come on”. Imperative of dar (to give) combined with the indirect object pronoun le (to him) |
| Con ganas | Can translate to “enthusiastically”, “eagerly”, “with determination” |
| camino | Masculine noun: Road, path, journey, trip |
| Me enseñó | Taught me. Preterite form in third-person of enseñar (to teach, to show) |
| Era | Was. This is the verb ser (to be) in the imperfect tense in the third-person. |
| rodar | Verb meaning “to roll”. Means “to travel” in some Latin American regions. |
| arriero | Acupation: a muleteer or mule driver |
| no hay que | Common impersonal expression meaning “it’s not necessary to”, “you don’t have to”, “there’s no need to” |
El Rey – José Alfredo Jiménez
Other artists’ versions
More famous Mexican songs
- Volver, Volver (Vicente Fernández)
- Amor Eterno (Juan Gabriel, Rocío Dúrcal)
- El Son de la Negra (folk song)
- Por Tu Maldito Amor (Vicente Fernanádez)
- Las Mañanitas (folk song)
- La cucaracha (folk song)
- La Bamba (Richie Valens)
- Bésame Mucho (Consuelo Velázquez)
- Querida (Juan Gabriel)
- Cielito Lindo (folk song)
- México Lindo y Querido
Reference
El Rey (Wikipedia)
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- El Rey: Lyrics, Translation & Meaning in Spanish - May 7, 2025