You know that feeling when a song starts and the entire room shifts? That's "Start Me Up." It’s the ultimate stadium anthem. But honestly, if you look at the lyrics start me up stones fans have been screaming for forty years, you’ll realize the song almost didn't happen. It wasn't even supposed to be a rock song.
Keith Richards didn't want it. He thought it was a reggae track.
For real. Back in 1978, during the Some Girls sessions in Paris, the band cut dozens of takes of this song. It was slow. It was bouncy. It was... not a hit. Keith reportedly felt the riff was too "pop" or "reggae-lite," and the track was tossed into the "maybe later" pile, which is basically where Rolling Stones songs go to die. It stayed there for years.
Then came 1981. The band needed material for Tattoo You. Associate producer Chris Kimsey spent weeks digging through the vaults, and he found those takes. Hidden among the discarded tapes was one single version where the band ditched the reggae swing and just played it straight. That was the magic.
What Are They Actually Saying?
The lyrics are classic Mick Jagger: athletic, suggestive, and kind of nonsensical if you think about them too hard. "You make a grown man cry." We've all heard it. But have you ever actually looked at the verse about the "slide area"?
People argue about what Mick means when he sings about the "spread out oil on my track." Is it about racing? Is it a car metaphor? Most Stones aficionados agree it’s one of Mick’s many double entendres regarding physical performance. The song is hyper-charged with energy. It’s about a relationship—or a moment—that is so intense it restarts the "machinery" of the narrator's heart or libido.
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The Composition Struggle
It’s funny because "Start Me Up" is basically a collage. The lyrics weren't written in one sitting. Mick often tinkers with lines for years. If you listen to the early bootlegs—the ones collectors trade like gold—the lyrics are mostly "mumble tracks." Jagger would sing gibberish just to find the melody.
The line "my eyes dilate, my lips go dry" is a perfect example of Jagger's ability to describe physical sensation. He’s not talking about love. He’s talking about a biological reaction.
The Microsoft Connection and the "Buyout"
You can’t talk about the lyrics start me up stones legacy without mentioning 1995. This was the moment the song changed forever in the public consciousness. Bill Gates wanted the song for the Windows 95 launch.
Rumor has it Microsoft paid between $8 million and $14 million. The irony? The song is about a person who makes someone feel like a "dead man" coming back to life. Microsoft used it to symbolize "starting" a computer. People joked at the time that the line "You'd make a grown man cry" was a reference to how frustrating early software could be.
The band caught some heat for "selling out," but in hindsight, it was a genius move. It cemented the track as the universal sound of "getting things going."
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Why the Lyrics Work (Even When They Don't Make Sense)
The Rolling Stones are masters of the "vibe over vocabulary" approach. When Mick sings about "the bridge," he isn't talking about architecture.
- "You got me ticking"
- "Give it all you got"
- "Don't stop"
These aren't complex metaphors. They are commands. The lyrics start me up stones version we know today works because of the percussive nature of the words. "Start" is a hard consonant. "Up" is an open vowel. It's built for a stadium. It’s built for 80,000 people to shout at once.
Keith Richards has famously said that he almost hated the riff because it was "too perfect." It came to him in a dream, or a moment of mindless practice, and he spent years trying to bury it because he thought it was a "cliché." He was wrong. The world needed that cliché.
The "Tattoo You" Context
When Tattoo You was being cobbled together, the Stones were in a weird place. They weren't really talking to each other. They weren't even in the studio at the same time for a lot of it. The album is a "Frankenstein" record made of bits and pieces from 1972 to 1981.
"Start Me Up" was the lead single, and it proved that the Stones weren't just a 60s or 70s relic. They could dominate the MTV era too. The music video—Mick doing his jerky, high-energy dance moves while wearing a tight shirt—is burned into the collective memory of anyone who watched VH1 in the 90s.
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Debunking the Myths
- Myth: The song was written for a car commercial.
Reality: No, it was written in 1978, years before the Microsoft deal or any commercial interest. - Myth: It’s about a specific woman.
Reality: Most likely not. It’s an amalgamation of Jagger’s "tough girl" muses from the late 70s. - Myth: The "reggae version" is lost.
Reality: You can find it on the 2021 40th Anniversary edition of Tattoo You. It’s fascinating but definitely not a hit.
The Technical Brilliance of the Opening Riff
If you're a guitar player, you know the secret. It’s Open G tuning (G-D-G-B-D). Keith took the bottom string off his Fender Telecaster. That’s why you can’t get the song to sound right in standard tuning. It needs that "slack" and that specific resonance.
The lyrics follow the rhythm of that open tuning. The "Start Me Up" refrain hits exactly on the beat where the G-chord resolves. It’s a masterclass in songwriting efficiency. There is zero fat on this track.
Why It Still Matters in 2026
We live in a world of short attention spans. "Start Me Up" gives you everything in the first three seconds. You don't have to wait for the drop. You don't have to wait for the chorus. The riff is the chorus.
The lyrics serve the riff. When Mick sings "You make a dead man come," it's provocative, sure. But it’s mostly about the energy of the performance. It's raw. It's messy. It’s the Stones.
Practical Steps for the Stones Fan
If you want to truly appreciate the lyrics start me up stones history, do these three things:
- Listen to the "Early Mix" found on the 2021 box set. It reveals how close the song came to being a forgettable reggae track.
- Watch the 1981 live footage from Hampton Coliseum. You can see the band realize, in real-time, that they have a massive hit on their hands.
- Check the liner notes of Tattoo You. It’s a lesson in how to "recycle" creative ideas. Don't throw away your old drafts; they might be your next "Start Me Up."
The song teaches us that greatness often requires a second look. It was a "throwaway" that became a cornerstone of rock history. Keep your "discarded" ideas close. They might just need a different tempo.