Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night.
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
‘This could be heaven or this could be Hell’
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face.
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (any time of year) you can find it here
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
‘Please bring me my wine’
He said, ‘we haven’t had that spirit here since nineteen sixty-nine’
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say”
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face.
They livin’ it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise), bring your alibis
The pink champagne on ice
And she said, ‘we are all just prisoners here, of our own device’
And in the master’s chambers,
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can’t kill the beast
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
‘Relax’ said the night man,
‘We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave!’
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/things-eagles-hotel-california/story?id=36375155
“Hotel California” is arguably the Eagles’ most iconic song. The hit tune was a billboard chart-topper; it sold over 16 million copies in the U.S. alone and was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 19 weeks, peaking at No. 1. In 1978, the song won a Grammy awardfor Record of the Year.
Here are five facts that you might not know about The Eagles’ “Hotel California.”
- Glenn Frey was the mastermind behind the song’s lyrics
The late Glenn Frey penned the lyrics for the hit song along with band members Don Henley and Don Felder.
- The song is about “excess in America”
While there have been many theories that contemplate what the song represents, the Eagles’ band members have revealed in multiple interviews that the true meaning behind “Hotel California” is a commentary on the hedonism and self-indulgence of America.
“It’s basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America, which is something we knew a lot about,” Henley said in a 2002 interview with “60 Minutes.”
In 2005, Henley further explained the meaning of the song to Rolling Stone magazine, which placed “Hotel California” at no. 49 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
“We were all middle class kids from the Midwest,” Henley said. “‘Hotel California’ was our interpretation of the high life in L.A.”
- “Hotel California” originally had a different name
According to journalist-turned-director Cameron Crowe, “Hotel California” was almost named something entirely different.
In 2003, Crowe revealed in “Conversations with Don Henley and Glenn Frey,” which was part of the liner notes for the Eagles’ compilation album “The Very Best Of,” that “Hotel California” was originally going to be titled “Mexican Reggae.”
Glenn Frey, Eagles Founding Member, Dies in New York City
Remembering Eagles Co-Founder Glenn Frey
A Look at Some of Glenn Frey’s Top Songs With the Eagles
- “Hotel California” was declared a song that shaped rock and roll
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, named “Hotel California” as one of the songs that shaped rock and roll.
The Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, and all seven former and present members of the group performed “Hotel California” together on stage.
- There is a playful nod to the band Steely Dan in the song
The line “They stab it with their steely knives, but they just can’t kill the beast,” is a playful jab to rock band Steely Dan.
Frey revealed in the liner notes of “The Very Best Of” that they alluded to the “Do it Again” rock band in “Hotel California” after Steely Dan made an Eagles reference in their song “Everything You Did.”
- 17 Years Agodaffyb
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General Comment:
Of course! How stupid of me! A book written by some anonymous yahoo is MUCH more accurate that the drummer from the ACTUAL BAND! What was I thinking?
- 17 Years Agochorts29
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General Comment:
i aslo agree that lyrics (especially from this song) are subject to many different interpetations. That’s the beauty of lyrics and poetry in general. However, I heard the “meaning” of this song described once and i thought it was a great interpretation, so im resharing it. I heard it described as “a cynical view of paradise.” When you think about it that way it could mean drugs, the entertainment business, or simply a supposed paradise because they all fit people’s ideas of paradise. Its a vague interpretation but it allows you to decide what the song means to you, and that (in my opinion) is one of the reasons we listen to music in the first place.
- 16 Years AgofrankyBkk
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General Comment:
And more from Don Henley:
There’s a picture of the Beverly Hills Hotel on the front, which is really THE hotel in California; very elegant and very decadent at the same time. It’s a romantic place and you can see all kinds of people there—You see a lot of tourist types, a lot of very glamorous movie star people, and a lot of phony people. A lot of real people too. A lot of people have parties there, so that’s what the front of the album cover is. It’s shot from a crane about 100 to 150 feet up in the air, at sunset. There are black silhouettes of palm trees and the sky is a kind of rusty, smoky color. We superimposed a neon sign that says ‘Hotel California’, because we couldn’t use the name Beverly Hills Hotel: we’d probably have been sued.
nice greetings
- 5 Years Agomikey14
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My Interpretation:
I think the song is metaphorical, but something that can be made sense of. The Hotel California represents the California high-life…the promise of the fame and fortune of the 70s that brought people to the state…from an outsiders point of view, it is attractive and draws people (like a drug)…however, be careful…”you can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave”…once there, it is hard to escape. Henley didn’t literally mean California…he meant the trappings of “ego” ….the mind state of being absorbed by pleasures and the “self”…as they can never bring true happiness.
- 16 Years Agowdfarmer
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General Comment:
Some of the interpretations on this page have been on the theme of drug addiction. A few years ago I wrote the following lyrics for “Hotel California”, but they’re about a different kind of addiction. Enjoy. 🙂
The Taco Bell Burrito
(Written in 1995 to the tune of “Hotel California” by the Eagles, and presented to the rather unusual Usenet newsgroup news:alt.fan.taco-bell.)On a dark desert highway
Cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of burritos
Rising up through the airUp ahead in the distance
I saw a bright yellow light
My head grew heavy and my mind grew dim
I had to stop for a biteThere I stood at the menu
Reading “Taco Bell”
I was trying to decide
Did I want bean dip wrapped in a shell?Then they took down my order
And they asked me to pay
There were voices in the kitchenette
As I walked awayWelcome to the Taco Bell Burrito!
Such a lovely place! Stuff to feed your face!
Plenty of food in the Taco Bell Burrito!
Mild or hot with spice – tacos, beans and rice!Cameras on the ceiling
You fill your cup with ice
Some would call it hell on earth
But for me it’s paradiseIn their massive freezers
There are tons of seasoned meat
They slather it with sauce and cheese
And they serve it up to eat!Last thing I remember
I was ordering some more
They had to bring in forty men
To pick me up from the floorI’ve tried to avoid it
But I can’t stay away
If I didn’t have to sleep or work
That is where I’d stayWelcome to the Taco Bell Burrito!
Such a lovely place! Stuff to feed your face!
Plenty of food in the Taco Bell Burrito!
Mild or hot with spice – tacos, beans and rice!!(c) 1995 by Wayne Farmer
- 13 Years AgoVendzilla
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General Comment:
I grew up in Camarillo California, the rumor that the song was based around the mental hospital outside of town made sence, if you listen to the lyrics, dark desert highway, it was located out side of town, you can check out but you can never leave. It’s call Camarillo State mantal institute and was closed down in 97, but as a kid I always spent Halloween there, when it still open, they have a bell tower!
- 11 Years Agoinjun42
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General Comment:
This song has many astonishing similarities to Jean-Paul Sartre’s “No Exit”. Nearly every line of this song has a direct parallel with the character’s experiences in Hell, although I do not recognize any references to Inez.
I do believe that there are minor drug references but overall it revolves around “No Exit”.
MORE RESOURCES FOR YOUR READING:
I have a very interesting little story for all of you in regards to this song and it’s meaning. About 15 years ago, I was taking an English class in University, and the and the professor of the class had an assignment for us. He handed out a sheet of paper face down to everyone. When we turned it over, we were told to write what we thought the song was about. He added, however, that the song was NOT about a cult so don’t even write that. So, basically almost every member of the class then proceeded along the next route….the drugs/addiction metaphors. When we were done, he proceeded to tell us what the song, and the corresponding album were ACTUALLY about. It seems our prof had, at one time, lived in the California area and was very good friends with a certain drummer named Don Henley. Don explained the story behind the song to him, and said he was amused at the wide varieties of interpretations the song had developed over time. According to the source, The “Hotel California” is actually, L.A. itself. The song and album take you on a trip though the music industry in L.A. in the late sixties early seventies, when agents and studios controlled artists like puppets. Back in the late sixties, 1969 to be exact, there was a major onslaught of artists being signed left, right and center, and artisit at the time were often known to basically “sell their soul” to a record company executive in order to get a recording contract. Many times these artists were given little if anything for their music, and thus ended up basically a victom to their love of music. Just imagine the scene at the time, it’s late 60’s, you are on your way to L.A. to strike it big with dreams of glamour and fame…and you basically are prepared to sell your soul of you have to to attain it. I must admit, when I first heard this explaination, I was a little skeptical…but trust me….listen to the WHOLE album again, start to finish and keep this definition in mind when you do it. Every song ties together in one big story, finishing off with the Last Resort which gives you a clear summery of the whole album and idea. I don’t deny that drugs and addiction have a lot to do with the lifestyle and results of the quest for fame. All I ask is to keep an open mind and think of “The Hotel California” as L.A., and you may be surprised.
I know what this song is about, not a cult it’s about drugs.
“Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way ” That’s not a candle she’s lighting up.
“Some dance to remember, some dance to forget” Some people do them do remember good memories, some people do them to forget bad memories.
‘We are all just prisoners here, of our own device” That is basically what drug users are
“The stab it with their steely knives But they just can’t kill the beast” The beast being the addiction/
“You can checkout any time you like, but you can never leave!” You can always say you aren’t addicted or that you can quit anytime you want, but you’ll always end up going back to them.
Pretty basic clear maening, there are other metaphors in there to decipher but that’s tha basics.
Don Felder from the Eagles:
I remember the day when I came up with the idea for the song:
“I had just leased this house out on the beach at Malibu–I guess it was around ’74 or ’75. I remember sitting in the living room, with the doors wide open, on a spectacular July day. I had a bathing suit on and I was sitting on this couch, soaking wet, thinking the world is a wonderful place to be. I had this acoustic 12-string and started tinkling around with it, and those ‘Hotel California’ chords just kind of oozed out. I had a TEAC four-track set up in one of the back bedrooms and I ran back there to put this idea down before I forgot it. I also had one of those old Rhythm Ace things, and I remember it was set to play this cha-cha beat. I played the 12-string on top of that. A few days later, I came up with a bass line and mixed the whole thing to mono, ping-ponging back and forth on this little four-track.”
Eagles singer/guitarist Don Henley picked the song out of a cassette containing eight or ten different ideas that Felder had put together. “Henley said, “I really love that one that sounds like a matador or something,” Felder recalls.
Originally written and recorded in E minor, the song was ultimately transposed to B-minor and re-recorded to accommodate the vocal melody delivered by Henley. Felder capoed his acoustic 12-string at the seventh fret, which enabled him to preserve the open chord shapes of his original guitar arrangement. The “High strung” timbre produced by the capo’s placement, enhanced by processing the 12-string through a Leslie cabinet, ended up becoming part of the song’s distinctive sound. Felder played all of the song’s guitar tracks except for the landmark solo, for which Felder and Joe Walsh traded licks and harmonies. “Joe and I sat on two stools and worked the whole thing out,” Felder recalls.
Don Henley and Glenn Frey collaborated on the song’s memorable lyric. “Glenn had this idea,” Felder remembers. “The fantasy of California. It’s supposed to be a microcosm of the world. Glenn is great at conceptualizing. He’ll say, ‘I can see this guy driving in the desert at night and you can see the lights of L.A. way off in the horizon.’ Henley gets the picture and goes from there.