The Rolling Stones’ 1981 album Tattoo You is an unlikely success.
It was more a product of commerce than art, cobbled together because the band needed a new album to promote on their upcoming tour. Tensions between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards resulted in little interest by either of them in collaborating on new songs, so producers mined the group’s voluminous archives for suitable material.
The original recordings of these songs date from 1972 through 1979, and band members added new vocals and other overdubs during pop-up studio sessions in ’80 and ’81.
The resulting lineup sounds a lot more cohesive than that process suggests. Split between a side of blues rockers and a side of ballads, the album has the structure and urgency of a brand-new release. And it gave The Stones their eighth straight #1 in the U.S.
Tattoo You spawned successful singles in bookend tracks ‘Start Me Up’ and ‘Waiting for a Friend,’ and it was a hit with critics as well. This low point in the band’s personal relationship turned out to be the last true high point in their career to date.
If you start me up
If you start me up, I’ll never stop
If you start me up
If you start me up, I’ll never stop
[Verse 1]
I’ve been running hot
You got me ticking, now don’t blow my top
If you start me up
If you start me up, I’ll never stop
Never stop, never stop, never stop
[Chorus]
You make a grown man cry
You make a grown man cry
You make a grown man cry
Spread out the oil, the gasoline
I walk smooth, ride in a mean, mean machine
Start it up
[Verse 2]
If you start it up
Kick on the starter, give it all you got
You got to, you got to
I can’t compete with the riders in the other heats
If you rough it up
If you like it, I can slide it up
Slide it up, slide it up, slide it up
[Chorus]
Don’t make a grown man cry
Don’t make a grown man cry
Don’t make a grown man cry
My eyes dilate, my lips go green
My hands are greasy, she’s a mean, mean machine
Start it up
[Verse 3]
Start me up
Ah, ah, give it all you’ve got
You’ve got to never, never, never stop
Slide it up, whoo!
Ah rev it up to start it up
Start it up, start it up, start it up
Never, never, never
[Chorus]
You make a grown man cry
You make a grown man cry
You make a grown man cry
Ride like the wind at double speed
I’ll take you places that you’ve never, never seen
Hey, hey
[Verse 4]
If you start it up
Love the day and we will never stop, never stop
Never, never, never stop
Start me up
Never stop, never stop
[Chorus]
You, you, you make a grown man cry
You, you make a dead man cum
You, you make a dead man cum
Meet Me In Montauk 
This was probably my entry point into the Stones, as the videos of the singles, including of course today’s song, were on heavy rotation in the early days of MTV.