“Hotel California” was widely acclaimed to be one of the best musical creations in the history of music. It does not take an inquisitive mind to observe that “Hotel California” is a truly unique masterpiece. And building on a similar pillar, the song has also developed its own mystique aura due to the variations of interpretations in the song meaning.
“Hotel California” as a single, was released in 1977 from The Eagle’s 5th studio album titled ‘Hotel California’. The album was produced by Bill Szymczyk, who had no special musical training or talent, but just extraordinary listening skills. The song was recorded by the ‘Criteria Studios’, ‘Miami & Record Plant’. The band musicians entail Glen Frey, Joe Walsh, Don Felder, and Randy Meisner. The song lasted for 6 minutes and 30 seconds.
Review of the Lyrics
Henley does the lead vocals, and he starts by saying;
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hairWarm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
These lyrics may look simple but there can also be a deeper meaning in it. Related to the singer’s life, this can show a dark time in his. Some critics term “Hotel California” as an outlook of California State. It was a land of promise many centuries back, thus the popular quote ‘California dream’. But during the 60’s and 70’s, California is a place of drugs heartbreaks, and shattered dreams.
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
The singer may be getting tired of the highs of music industry and what also comes with it. It’s flashing lights throughout the day for the celebrities, which makes them fairly blind to what’s real and what’s actually not.
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"
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"
"I had to stop for the night" could mean that the singer tries to get away from the stardom, wonder where that really leads him.
Most times, celebrities that are tormented with the high-life usually end up with of drugs to get away from the reality. Another famous interpretation of “Hotel California” can be that the song is addressing drug addiction. Just before you do the first shot, you take a second to actually think it through and later goes ahead anyway. On that second, the moment of your death is approaching. Drugs are a really place of heaven and hell. When you intake them, it’s a make-belief paradise. But what usually ends it is an obvious hell.
Then the chorus comes in here;
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
If the hotel is that good, how come it doesn’t get filled in? Except, there is a way to control or free the people coming in
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
Tiffany is a popular high end jewelry seller. Mercedes Benz is possibly the top luxurious brand back in the 70’s.
Many handsome men fall behind her devoured beauty, but she doesn’t settle down with them. She has friend-zoned them, as we call it now. They are all enjoying the music and also dancing off. Many people are trying to make memories while some are trying to forget their problems. “Hotel California” might be describing the state of the men and women in California back in those days. It was life full of party for those that come chasing their dreams to California. They mostly end up wasting their money and time on loose drugs and women.
So I called up the Captain,"Please bring me my wine"
He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine"
The was really no significance of the year 1969, just for the fact that ‘The Satanic Bible’ was published that year, and that has enhanced “Hotel California” to gain a reputation as a hallelujah to Satan. And it might just be that Don Henley wanted a word to rhyme with ‘wine’ in the last line.
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...
Yet, distant voices inhabit the Hotel California, even at the mid-night.
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
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 chorus of “Hotel California” actually changes from its previous appearance. Living in the hotel and also ‘living it up’ in the hotel have different meanings. Living it up means that you enjoy the stay, the party and you live to the fullest. This might be referring to drugs again. And this last line aids the interpretation. An ‘alibi’ is a scapegoat. You actually live it up and also get into bad habits, but you always have an excuse, right?
Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
The pink champagne on ice
Mirrors do reflect things. ‘Pink champagne’ is slang for a top class drug. Hotel California is full with drugs, just like the state of California in those days.
And she said "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device"
This is a good description of the famous life of musicians that end up frustrated, depressed and psychologically exhausted because of the non-stop high life. They cannot just catch a break. And “Hotel California” sings the musicians are now prisoners/slaves to what they have created themselves. The music industry actually has the tendency to suck its makers.
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast
The lyrics above are one of the major reasons why “Hotel California” has got a reputation as a cult song worshiping Satan.
The song talks about some rituals to please the master -which master? It’s not known. They stab the beast just to kill it, but they fail. If this happens to be a reference to drugs, its mean could be that addiction has just taken over. There is no going back or preventing the beastly lust for drugs. It just cannot be killed. In a similar manner California was a state which could offer you a feast. And those that fall for that dream, come in, and get lusty for fortune and fame and it can never be killed.
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
If when the reality comes in, celebrities note the horrors of Hotel California which is AKA California State AKA drug addiction. Then they actually run. It’s a very difficult task to withdraw back when you’re this deep in the hotel.
"We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave! "
Another character comes in in “Hotel California.” It’s a night man this time (probably a security officer) gives the hard truth. The hotel is just programmed to receive (though that hotel isn’t programmed, they actually operate the way humans operates them). Then the night man gives the final verdict. The singer can ‘check out’ the hotel any time but he can never leave.
Even if the musician quits the drugs, it has a hold on him still. The person who leaves Hotel California is verily not the same person that went in. So, it is correct in a way to actually say the ones that come in never leave.
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