Ride

Okay, this is long and the other interpretations are also good but if you read this cool. At a first listen the song is obviously about a female drifter having fun and crisscrossing the road but this is one of those songs where the story acts as a context for the themes.

Part 1, "Ive been out on that open road, you can be my full-time daddy, white and gold": The narrator is feeling alone on the road and is trying to find her place. She is desperate to feel companionship and like she matters to somebody having sacrificed so much for this life. All the way up to the chorus she talks about how the only thing she had to keep her company was the "singing the blues" and "one pretty song".

Part 2, "Dying young and I'm playing hard, that's how my father made his life an art" : Here the narrator is focusing on the good aspects of drifting around. She can play hard and drink all day. By saying that she's gonna die young though she is aware her lifestyle is risky and self-destructive but she is a free spirit who couldn't care less and by calling this life an art shows that she wouldn't have it any other way.

Part 3, "I'm tired of feeling like I'm fucking crazy": At this point the narrator explains why she is doing all of this in the first place. She is obviously an outcast and considered a freak and the act of running away from it all and living life her way is the only way for her to stay sane and happy. "All I've got to keep me sane baby, so I just drive, I just ride".

Part 4, "Chorus": I also think that she isn't just running away from the world but from herself too. "I hear the birds on the summer breeze" shows the freedom she is enjoying and during the day "I drive fast" so she is always preoccupied. "I am alone in the night" obviously means that at nights she is stuck with herself and "Been trying hard not to get into trouble, But I, Ive got a war in my mind" means that she is probably a quite wild, crazy and self-destructive person searching for herself and peace-of-mind on the road. "So, I just drive, just drive" shows her solution to her troubles are to keep running and moving along but no matter how far she goes or how fast she goes her problems keep catching up to her.

Summary: The song could be the soundtrack to the lives of James Dean or Jack Kerouac. She captures the essence of freedom, excitement and rebellion mixed with alienation and the sense of aimlessness that comes with roaming the roads. If you fancy yourself an artist or scientist; a maverick, freak, free-spirit or adventurer trapped in by the constraints of society than this song is about letting loose. If you are just an average Joe/ Jane who has ever felt like packing one bag and running away from it all then you can also relate. Just lie back, listen to Lana's beautiful voice and imagine the crisp air blowing through your hair and all the wacky characters you will meet along the way as you let loose. Great Song!!