Enough Is Enough

Album: The Hives Forever Forever the Hives (2025)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Enough Is Enough" kicks the door in with a fast, fuzz-packed riff, a pogo-ready tempo and a gang-shouted chorus. Howlin' Pelle Almqvist delivers the vocal in his usual abrasive bark. He is fed up with people "eating anything they serve you," "marching in single file," and dutifully toeing the line, which puts the song squarely in the proud Hives tradition of snarling anti-conformity. Compared to the smug vindication of "Hate To Say I Told You So," "Enough Is Enough" feels like the moment when the finger snaps clean off.
  • The Hives released "Enough Is Enough" as the first single from their seventh album, The Hives Forever Forever The Hives.

    "I think 'Enough Is Enough' got picked as a single really early when there were demos because our manager thought it would sell concert tickets," Almqvist told NME. "They wanted to release that first because it's got a big riff and it's a perfect tempo for a crowd to jump up and down."
  • Howlin' Pelle Almqvist wrote the lyrics and co-composed the music with the rest of the band, though the official credits, as ever, list the long-running fictional mastermind Randy Fitzsimmons, joined by "Chip," "Montgomery," and "Wilbur" Fitzsimmons. This continues The Hives' decades-long authorship in-joke.
  • The band wrote the song in the early 2020s, but its sour mood hasn't aged. "Sometimes you don't even realize what you've written until people ask if the lyrics are about current politics," Almqvist told The Sun in 2025. "Some of the lyrics are four years old, so maybe it's prophetic."
  • Almqvist insists the album wasn't intended as a political statement ("we just do our thing in the studio") but conceded that the world has only got worse since they wrote "Enough Is Enough," citing endless bickering for which he blames the internet.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Is That Song Public Domain?

Is That Song Public Domain?Fact or Fiction

Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.