Marianne Faithfull left her husband, John Dunbar, in late 1965 shortly after giving birth to their son, Nicholas, to live with Mick Jagger. The Rolling Stones frontman's bandmate Brian Jones was dating the actress/model Anita Pallenberg at the time, and because their boyfriends were spending so much time in the studio, it threw Faithfull and Pallenberg together. They became best friends and remained close until Pallenberg's death on June 13, 2017. This song is Faithfull's heartbreaking tribute to her close friend.

Born to live and die
Forever loving you
Don't make me cry, know what I must do
Pray for a good death, one for me, one for you

When Marianne Faithfull came to record "Born To Live," it shook her up emotionally. She recalled to Mojo: "All these memories came back hard. When I'd done that, Anita appeared, right there in front of me. That's the thing about these songs. They're not just about these people, they're about everybody who's been going through this stuff. It's so hard to lose your loved ones."