Replacements – Achin’ To Be

A wonderful song from the band’s sixth album Don’t Tell A Soul. It was the first album with new guitarist Bob “Slim” Dunlap after Bob Stinson quit. They recorded their previous album Please To Meet Me as a trio with Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, and Chris Mars.

Westerberg has claimed the song’s protagonist was a composite of several people, though one inspiration was his younger sister Mary. She was a Minneapolis budding rock radio deejay, Mary was experiencing the same uncertainties Paul had gone through prior to the Replacements. (In the video showed Mary as both Paul’s shadow and reflection.)

The sound of this album turned some of the older fans off. In order to get more radio play the record company brought in Chris Lord-Alge to mix the album. The album had a lot of those eighties effects used to enhance the music. The result was more of a polished  Replacements album.

They would release one more album after this one called All Shook Down in 1990. Chris Mars left the band in 1989 and was replaced in 1990 by Steve Foley. The band toured with Elvis Costello in 1991 and would play their farewell gig in Chicago on July 4, 1991.

In 2012 they would regroup with a different drummer and tour until 2015. They sold out some arenas that held around 14,000 people in 10 minutes in some areas. After they broke up their legend grew and they were heard more than they were when they were together originally. For my money…they were the best pure rock band in the 80s for these ears.

Achin’ To Be

Well she’s kind of like an artist
Sittin’ on the floor
Never finishes, she abandons
Never shows a soul

And she’s kind of like a movie
Everyone rushes to see
And no one understands it
Sittin’ in their seats

She opens her mouth to speak and
What comes out’s a mystery
Thought about, not understood
She’s achin’ to be

Well she dances alone in nightclubs
Every other day of the week
People look right through her
Baby doll, check your cheek

And she’s kind of like a poet
Who finds it hard to speak
Poems come so slowly
Like the colors down a sheet

She opens her mouth to speak and
What comes out’s a mystery
Thought about, not understood
She’s achin’ to be

I’ve been achin’ for a while now, friend
I’ve been achin’ hard for years

Well she’s kind of like an artist
Who uses paints no more
You never show me what you’re doing
Never show a soul

Well, I saw one of your pictures
There was nothin’ that I could see
If no one’s on your canvas
Well, I’m achin’ to be

She closes her mouth to speak and
Closes her eyes to see
Thought about an’ only loved
She’s achin’ to be
Just like me

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball fan, old movie and tv show fan... and a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

23 thoughts on “Replacements – Achin’ To Be”

      1. Cool, though too bad she’s not on air there anymore. Sounds like a DJ I would have liked & would have done well at CFNY in Canada in the day

        Liked by 1 person

  4. This is easy to listen to and enjoy. I am sad that someone felt the need to give their sound the ’80s polish, though. This would have been fine, and maybe even better without that, imo.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Interestingly enough… a few years ago an album came out that had the original mixes on them because fans still complain. I’ll find out the name.

      In a way it was like polishing the Stones… to me you just don’t do that… but of course they didn’t have the huge sales and leverage.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. It’s called Dead Man’s Pop… it was released in 2019. The name escaped me yesterday for some reason.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Yes some of it is…or most of it. The song you can really tell the difference is a song called “Talent Show” and I’ll Be You is obvious also.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Nice tune. I know you and Graham from Aphoristic Album Reviews have covered The Replacements before, and based on these posts I liked what I heard. Sadly, I still haven’t gotten around to exploring them in greater detail.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. When you do let me know…there are three albums to start with… Let It Be (yes it’s named that lol), Tim, and Please To Meet Me.
      Probably my favorite rock band of the 80s.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Thanks, I guess I should really check ’em out. The “Let It Be” cover looks familiar. I probably listened to some songs from that album before – probably when you guys posted about them!

        Like

    1. My favorites are Let It Be, Tim, and Pleased To Meet Me…some great albums. Don’t Tell A Soul is good also…a little more smoother but good.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. Oh….sorry but there is one more thing. Many fans didn’t like the slick production of Don’t Tell A Soul so what the band did was in 2019…they released an unpolished version of it called Dead Man’s Pop….you can hear it on youtube….sorry to go on and on….but I love their music.

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Pingback: Replacements – Achin’ To Be – MobsterTiger

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