The band's best known lineup consisted of Paul Westerberg (vocals Read Full BioThe Replacements is an alternative rock group that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1979. The band originally started off as a hardcore punk outfit but began to incorporate folk and power pop influences in their sound. They become one of the leaders of the early alt-folk set and one of the flagship bands of the American post-punk scene in the 80s, being a major influence on 90s indie rock as well.
The band's best known lineup consisted of Paul Westerberg (vocals, guitar), Bob Stinson (guitar), Tommy Stinson (bass) and Chris Mars (drums). They were infamous for their abrasive, hard drinking lifestyles and their ragged stage performances, notorious for coming to some shows too drunk to play very well at all. Sometimes, they just performed entire sets of covers, their picks showing their debt to 70s hard rock outfits.
The sound of this band showed off what their many fans saw as the very best of independent rock n' roll. More than possibly any other band since The Rolling Stones and the the Ramones, the Replacements embodied the spirit of rock, from their raucous performances, drug addictions, charismatic and romantic frontman, and wild, sometimes basic and sometimes powerfully confessional songs. At any given time, almost any list of 'The Best Rock Albums Of All Time' will include either the album 'Let It Be' or 'Tim', sometimes both.
Their sound started off as a classic rock influenced shade of punk, mutating to a melodic hardcore sound reminiscent of local buddies Hüsker Dü. They also progressed into a relatively straightforward but heartfelt rock style, with a number of highly soulful ballads from the heart of Westerberg to round out the mix.
The band broke up in 1991. Bob Stinson, who was fired from the band in 1986 (and was subsequently replaced by Slim Dunlap), died in 1995. Westerberg and Mars both have solo careers, and Tommy Stinson formed several bands, like Perfect and Bash and Pop, and now plays bass for Guns and Roses and Soul Asylum.
In 2012, Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson reformed the Replacements and recorded an EP, "Songs for Slim" as a benefit for former member Slim Dunlap, who had suffered a stroke. The band played their first show since 1991 on August 24, 2013 at RiotFest in Toronto, and has since played at several festivals since. The band also currently includes Josh Freese on drums and Dave Minehan on guitar. The band played its final show in June 2015.
I Will Dare
The Replacements Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning | Line by Line Meaning
How old am I?
Let's count the rings around my eyes
How smart are you?
How dumb am I?
Don't count any of my advice
Oh, meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Now I don't care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I might dare
Call me on Thursday, if you will
Or call me on Wednesday, better still
Ain't lost yet, so I gotta be a winner
Fingernails and a cigarette's a lousy dinner
Young, are you? Wo oo
C'mon meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Now, I don't care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I will dare
Meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Now, I don't care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I will dare
How young are you?
How old am I?
Let's count the rings around my eyes
How smart are you?
How smart are you?
How dumb am I?
Dumb am I
Meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Now I don't care, meet me tonight
If you would dare, I would dare
Meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Now I don't care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I will dare
The lyrics of "I Will Dare" by The Replacements are all about daring to take a chance on love, even though it might not be the wisest choice. The opening lines of the song - "How young are you? How old am I? Let's count the rings around my eyes" - suggest a sense of weariness and world-weariness, a feeling of having been around the block a few times. The narrator seems to be questioning the age and wisdom of both himself and his potential lover, wondering whether they are really ready to take a chance on each other.
The chorus of the song, which repeats the phrase "meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime", suggests a sense of desperation and urgency, a need to find love and connection no matter what. The phrase "If you will dare, I will dare" suggests an equal willingness to take risks and make things happen despite the odds.
The final lines of the song, which repeat the opening lines, suggest a sense of being caught in a cycle of longing and searching, of trying to find something elusive and hard to grasp. The overall effect is one of melancholy and longing, tempered by a sense of reckless abandon and willingness to take chances.
Line by Line Meaning
How young are you?
Let's establish the age difference between us
How old am I?
Let's determine my age
Let's count the rings around my eyes
Let's use the wrinkles around my eyes as a way to measure my age
How smart are you?
Let's determine your intelligence
How dumb am I?
Let's measure my own intelligence against yours
Don't count any of my advice
Don't take my guidance on this matter
Oh, meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Let's be spontaneous and meet up wherever, whenever
Now I don't care, meet me tonight
I'm not concerned about the details, just meet with me tonight
If you will dare, I might dare
If you're willing to take a risk, maybe I will too
Call me on Thursday, if you will
If you want to contact me, try Thursday
Or call me on Wednesday, better still
Actually, Wednesday might be a better day to call
Ain't lost yet, so I gotta be a winner
I haven't failed yet, so I must be succeeding in some way
Fingernails and a cigarette's a lousy dinner
My current situation is not ideal or healthy
C'mon meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
I'm urging you to take the risk and meet with me spontaneously
If you would dare, I would dare
I'm willing to take risks if you are
How smart are you?
Let's revisit the topic of your intelligence
How dumb am I?
Once again, let's compare our intellects
Meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Let's reiterate the spontaneity of our meeting plans
If you will dare, I will dare
I'm encouraging you to be bold and take risks with me
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PAUL WESTERBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
kenny R
How young are you
How old am I
Let's count the rings
Around my eye
How smart are you
How dumb am I
Don't count any
Of my advice
Oh, meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Now I don't care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I might dare
Call me on Thursday, if you will
Or call me on Wednesday, better still
Ain't lost yet, so I gotta be the winner
Fingernails and cigarettes, a lousy dinner
Young, are you?
Meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Now, I don't care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I will dare
Meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Now, I don't care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I will dare
How young are you?
How old am I?
Let's count the rings
Around my eyes
How smart are you?
How smart are you?
How dumb am I?
Meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Now, I don't care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I will dare
Meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Now, I don't care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I will dare
JOHN BRADLEY
Replacements are the most underrated band of all time. What a great song.
Judy P
Considered by critics and music writers to be one of the bands best songs. I have always loved this song since is came out on LET IT BE in 1984. It's especially awesome that Westerberg plays mandolin and Peter Buck plays guitar, including the solo after lead guitarist Bob Stinson couldn't seem to write a solo adequate enough for the song.Always a great song to listen to!!!
Lorddavud
Such well written songs, and such a tight band. They really should have gotten much more play.
Ed Helvey
@overdrive "Beer For Breakfast" is one of my favorite songs. Their imbibing is a part of their legacy. I'm glad that I was able to drink whiskey with Tommy Stinson after Perfect played a show in Portland in 1996.
overdrive
I think alcohol did them in. Their live shows were often a wreck.
Joseph Prettyman
one of the coolest bands ever.
Connor Ian Gorrie-Miller
For sure, The Replacements are great. One of my all time faves, they are the perfect mixture of punk, pop, alternative, and American roots music (50's and 60's Rock'n'Roll, rockabilly, country, blues, swing, etc.). I hear a 60's and early 70's kind of pop rock vibe underneath the punk and early-alternative rock sound. I can see how these guys, along with Husker Du, The Pixies, Pavement, The Stone Roses, and R.E.M. basically originated the 'alternative rock' and 'indie' genres. These 6 bands had such an influence on music and bands that were to come later (late 80's pre-grunge like early Soundgarden, Dinosaur Jr., Nirvana's debut album 'Bleach', etc., alternative rock and grunge in the early 90's (Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Days of the New, etc., 90's pop punk (Green Day, Millencollin, Jawbreaker, NOFX, Offspring, etc.) indie bands (like Modest Mouse, Bright Eyes, Band of Horses, etc.) post grunge (such as Seether, Staind, etc.) and a lot of other stuff that I'm forgetting right now. Same with The Cure and The Smiths, such influential music that inspired generations of musicians to come. And you can trace it all back to early 70's proto-punk, late 70's punk rock (UK and USA), and 80's postpunk. And all of that can be traced further back to 50's and 60's Rock'n'Roll, especially rockabilly (huge influence on punk, and one of my favourite genres, both for listening to and playing on guitar). And of course you can trace Rock'n'Roll back to blues, country and folk (American Roots music is what I cal it, traditional North American and British music like folk, country swing, R&B, doowop, ragtime, traditional New Orleans jazz, skiffle in Britain, etc.). Earlier than that and you get into traditional folk music, chain-gang and slave songs (field hollers, work music, call and response style field songs, etc. which had a big influence on early blues), and then pre-Colonial traditional music, like Scottish, Irish and English folk sings, jigs, and traditional music with fiddles, pipes, washboards, stand up bass, banjo, mandolin, and other traditional instrumentation, as well as African influences and European influences. Spanish flamenco guitar, and earlier (Medieval era, and older, up to the clasical period) instruments such as the lyre I'm sure was also in influence/ one of the many ingredients that makes up the gumbo/ melting pot that is modern North American and British music, a.k.a. Rock'n'Roll. Its all Rock'n'Roll to me, and I definitely appreciate the influence rockabilly and blues had on punk, and the influence that punk and post punk has had on alternative rock, grunge, post-geunge, post hardcore, metal, and basically all forms of modern instrument/ guitar-based music.
Punk rock rules, and The Replacements are truly one of THE BEST punk/alt rock bands EVER. I love their style, everything about this band, the lyrics, the music, the vocals, its rough and edgy but yet so catchy and fun. Truly an underrated band that deserves much more recognition and a much wider fan base. I know they were pretty big in the mid and late 80's, but I wanna see kids walking around wearing Replacements, Husker Du, Smiths, Cure, Ramones and Buzzcocks shirts, lol.
If only I was born 20 or 30 years earlier....
Luckily there is a younger punk rock scene in the city I live in (Hamilton, ON), but I wish it was bigger and more appreciated.
Michael Miller
The greatest band ever.
Maria Pratiwi
I love everything about this song!!!!!
Todd Turner
@Oppothumbs M .