Hate To Say I Told You So Lyrics - The Hives

Song Facts:

Annotations and Meaning:

The Hives' "Hate To Say I Told You So," as featured on "Invincible (TV Series)," sets a declaration of independence anthem. Its songs bristle with the kind of rebelliousness and self-confidence endemic to high-energy riffs and defiant lyrics.
The song itself opens with the line, "Do what I want 'cause I can, and if I don't, because I wanna," setting the modus for an intentional, conscious act of seeking one's autonomy and refusal to be shackled by any outside expectation or norm. It's a bigger theme within 'Invincible,' and that one, the attitude replicates: characters hardly ever find them at odds with the burden of expectation or desire to forge their own path.

The chorus, "Hate to say I told you so," is an arrogant and somehow jolly declaration of having predicted the outcome in a situation where nobody else had believed them. This sense brings the motif of the song through to believe in and stick by your guns but also realizes life with the "Invincible" characters who are doubted or opposed many times in their pursuit.

"Do what I please, gonna spread the disease cause I wanna / Gonna call all the shots, for the n***s and the nots, cause I wanna." This is a clear message of intent to put a spanner in the works and challenge the establishment. This metaphorical "spread the disease" can be looked at as some kind of desire for influence or change in the system generally—a point of connection with the general theme of the song.

The bridge, "Ask me once, I'll answer twice 'cause what I know, I'll tell because I wanna," tells of the kind of willing response to equally share and express his or her knowledge and belief even if it gets repeated or is asked repeatedly. This only serves to further reveal what transparency and conviction are worth in the types of story arcs probably investigated by "Invincible.

In a word, The Hives' "Hate To Say I Told You So" is just the sort of brashly kinetic, defiant spirit that gives much of the band's music its appeal and its popularity among skatepunks and extreme sports aficionados—a spirit that resonates with the same attitude of independence, defiance, and resilience found woven through "Invincible." So it is with this series' soundtrack: a strong energy is not to be found purely in the plot but also in the anthem of its characters and viewers who value independence and the courage to be unyielding about what they believe.