This song has Lana professing her love for her rich, gangster boyfriend. However, their Bonnie & Clyde-like relationship is doomed.

“Off to the Races” is inspired by the book Lolita, written by Vladimir Nabokov, as is “Carmen” from the same album. Lana is a huge Nabokov fan and she has his name tattooed on her arm next to American poet Walt Whitman’s name.

Lana portrays a character (which is a hybrid of her own image and Lolita) that has a criminal past of alcohol, stripping and overspending. She falls in love with a wealthy gangster who has a profound love for women, cocaine, and money. This persona is not entirely fictional—Lana really did have an alcohol problem as a young girl.

Lana runs rampant through the city, crashing parties and drinking to excess. Although they are both bad people with dark pasts, they adore each other, despite their many flaws. This is a divergence from Nabokov’s classic; however, as Humbert’s devotion to Lolita is unreciprocated.