"The General" is a song by the rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band Dispatch

Dispatch (band)

Dispatch is an American indie/roots band. The band consists of Brad Corrigan , Pete Francis Heimbold , and Chad Urmston ....

.

Story

This song tells a story about a brilliant and battle-torn old general, who has a dream in which he realizes the futility of the war he is fighting. He then attempts to persuade his men that they do not have to participate in the battle, but that he would fulfill the job he had sworn to do. He wants them to leave and live a full life.

In The Best of Dispatch, a book containing guitar and voice transcriptions of selected Dispatch

Dispatch (band)

Dispatch is an American indie/roots band. The band consists of Brad Corrigan , Pete Francis Heimbold , and Chad Urmston ....

 songs, Chad Urmston

Chad Urmston

Chad Stokes Urmston is an American musician. Urmston was a member of the band Hermit Thrush which later gave birth to the band Dispatch. He is the frontman for the Sherborn, Massachusetts-area band State Radio, as well as a constant activist for improved living conditions in Zimbabwe...

 describes "The General":

Formats

The song has appeared in multiple formats, including its original version on the album Bang Bang, as well as multiple live versions on their albums Gut the Van

Gut the Van

Gut the Van is a live album released in 2001 by Dispatch, an American indie/roots folk band. The set consists of two CDs, , and are named after vans that the band used to tour the country.-Disc 1: "Peg":Track details from liner notes....

, All Points Bulletin

All Points Bulletin (album)

All Points Bulletin is a 2004 live album by American indie/roots folk band Dispatch. Much like their previous live album Gut the Van, the album was released onto two discs...

and, most recently, Dispatch: Zimbabwe

Dispatch: Zimbabwe

Dispatch:Zimbabwe is a live DVD recording by American indie rock band Dispatch, recorded July 14 and 15, 2007 at Madison Square Garden in New York...

. In the Madison Square Garden format, the song features several instruments including the trumpet, saxophone, and trombone, an addition never before featured in the song.