I think the speaker in this song is Carmen, from that later track on her album. The songs might just have similar themes but be completely different, but my interpretation is that both Carmen and the speaker in this song are prostitutes. I think "Carmen" is about the difficulties of a life of prostitution from an outsider's perspective, but "Off to the Races" is Carmen's defense for her lifestyle...she believes (or just tells herself) that she's really living the good life and that her pimp legitimately cares about her and takes care of her.
Just a thought :) I had been wondering about this when I heard some similarities in the two songs, ex: "slipping on my red dress, putting on my makeup" from this song and "put your red dress on, put your lipstick on" from "Carmen."
I think the speaker in this song is Carmen, from that later track on her album. The songs might just have similar themes but be completely different, but my interpretation is that both Carmen and the speaker in this song are prostitutes. I think "Carmen" is about the difficulties of a life of prostitution from an outsider's perspective, but "Off to the Races" is Carmen's defense for her lifestyle...she believes (or just tells herself) that she's really living the good life and that her pimp legitimately cares about her and takes care of her.
Just a thought :) I had been wondering about this when I heard some similarities in the two songs, ex: "slipping on my red dress, putting on my makeup" from this song and "put your red dress on, put your lipstick on" from "Carmen."