“Born to Die” is described by Lana Del Rey as a “homage to true love and a tribute to living life on the wild side.” To quote Chelsea Hodson from New York Times, “In [Lana’s] melancholy world, to love is to live, so to love the wrong person is to be “born to die.”

It is the opening track from her studio album of the same name, released as the second single from the LP.

The music video was released on December 14th, 2011, receiving generally positive reviews. She spoke with MTV about its background:

For “Born To Die,” I wrote a treatment for it called “The Lonely Queen,” so that I would be in a setting that represented Heaven, sort of in like a remote castle in Romania. Walking through the halls flanked by tigers. And then she’d be flashing back to happier times in the arms of her love. And then Yoann Lemoine adapted that treatment and made it more doable. But I love that video. I really do. I can’t believe it turned out so beautifully. I spent a lot of time thinking about where I wanted it to go.