Hotel California

"Hotel California" is a fictional hotel and the main focus of the famous song of the same from the Eagles' album (also named "Hotel California") and was released as a single in February 1977. It is one of the best-known songs of the album-oriented rock era.

The Story
The lyrics describe the title establishment as a luxury resort where "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave." On the surface, it tells the tale of a weary traveler who becomes trapped in a nightmarish luxury hotel that at first appears inviting and tempting. The song is an allegory about hedonism and self-destruction in the Southern California music industry of the late 1970s; Don Henley called it "our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles" and later reiterated "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." In 2008, Don Felder described the origins of the lyrics:

"Don Henley and Glenn wrote most of the words. All of us kind of drove into LA at night. Nobody was from California, and if you drive into LA at night... you can just see this glow on the horizon of lights, and the images that start running through your head of Hollywood and all the dreams that you have, and so it was kind of about that... what we started writing the song about. Coming into LA... and from that 'Life in the Fast Lane' came out of it, and 'Wasted Time' and a bunch of other songs."

The abstract nature of the lyrics has led listeners to their own interpretations over the years. In the 1980s, some Christian evangelists alleged that "Hotel California" referred to a San Francisco hotel purchased by Anton LaVey and converted into the Church of Satan. Other rumors suggested that the Hotel California was the Camarillo State Mental Hospital. These claims have been consistently denied by the band.

Lyrics

 * On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
 * 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
 * There she stood in the doorway;
 * 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...


 * Welcome to the Hotel California
 * 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


 * Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
 * She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends
 * How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
 * Some dance to remember, some dance to forget


 * So I called up the Captain,
 * "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...


 * Welcome to the Hotel California
 * 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


 * Mirrors on the ceiling,
 * 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


 * Last thing I remember, I was
 * 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! "

Trivia

 * "Hotel California" - despite being symbolic, is often quoted as an example of the "Hotel Of Horror" archetype - which can also be found in films such as The Shining and (to an extent) Hostel as well as the iconic Psycho movies.
 * "Hotel California" is also the name of a 2008 crime film centring around a group of criminals in Los Angeles.