Lana Del Rey - Born to Die Lyrics Meaning

This song is about a strong addiction that remains ironically intact. The harder LdR tries to detach herself from that addiction, the more she admits their common destiny in the face of an inevitable end. At the beginning, it looks like the last innings of a relationship where love is still intact but it just doesn't work any more. LdR asks for the ultimate sacrifice from her beloved one to end the relationship ("take me to the finish line"). She feels ready to set the final stage ("feet don't fail me now"), admitting how she contributed her fair share in making that relationship not work (selfishness "take what I could get", naivity "confused as a little child"). Having reached that point of no return, she asks him not make her sad and celebrate their special relationship one last time. Now comes the twist: When LdR sings that the "road is long" and "we carry on in the meantime", she accepts that this last stage of their relationship, her addiction, could become an eternal one. Ironically, the hope that the relationship will finally end ("born to die"), enables her to carry on.