Eagles: Hotel California Meaning
Song Released: 1977
Hotel California Lyrics
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...
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I think Don Henley's peson in this song is dead and doesn't realize that he is dead. "We are all just prisoners here of our own device" may mean that they are trapped in purgutory and are waiting for their judgement. This could take a while depending on how the souls had lived their lvies on Earth.
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Wow, after reading all the previous interpretations, that's all I can say Wow. THEY ARE ALL WRONG.
This song is about the Hotel California (aka Beverly Hills Hotel, it is on the cover of the album after all). The message of the song is materialism and excess, which is exactly what the Eagles (Henly, Fryy, Walsh and others at the time) were getting into after just moving to Hollywood once they were becoming more renouned and popular. This info is paraphrased from Don Henly himself. Its not about recovering from drugs or anything like that. Its very similar in meaning to "Life In The Fast Lane", so says the composer himself...Don Henly. -
It's about a recovering drug addict "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device" is refering to how they started their addiction but didn't want to stop at first, now though, "I had to find the passage back to the place I was before", meaning he wants to stop, but " You can check out anytime you want, but you may never leave!" means that it didn't matter how long he stopped, would eventually return to the disgusting habit.
I don't think there is any secret meaning behind "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969" because if you think about it it is really just a harmless pun, meaning that either the Hotel hasn't had that spirit (wine) here since 1969, or that nobody has really wanted the wine since 1969. -
Hey...
Ok. I definitely do not want to sound like you. You can say this is about LSD, heroine, and I can as easily say it's about cocaine or marijuana. FYI, one lyric in the song does NOT define the meaning of the song.
I used to think this song was about prostitution. "Sweet Champaigne on ice", most of what's stated above. But some songwriters want you to think that. They want you to come up with the interpretation. In truth, this song is about nothing. Just gibberish. At first, it might seem to make sense to be about some mental hospital, but now you guys sound like retards.
YAH I'm sure they serve champaigne at a nut house. I'm sure they have big beast dinners with captains at a whore house.
Unless you have some interview or link or something exposing the truth of this song, don't waste your time. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Sorry to inform everyone this, but you are all wrong. This song is about a mental hospital in the city of Camarillo (my home town, and that's how I know) in Ventura County. I know this for a fact so don't think I am trying to BS anyone. The mental hospital was abandoned and restructured and has now become CSUCI (California State University of Channel Islands). Read the lyrics again and think of a mental hospital, you'll know what I mean. Classic Rock for LIFE!!!
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I forgot to put the proof in my last post.
On the back of the CD, it shows a picture of the Hotel California and in the window, it shows the man who made the demonic bible. -
This is the interpretation I garnered from a multitude of sources, way back when I started playing my Bm, F#7th and so on.... One day, I was on pot and while playing guitar, it all came together and when I related to my friends they shit their pants and were spooked and did not listen to this song for days.
I will not provide literal meaning, where the guy is in top down car, or about whore house, or music industry or the life in the fast lane as those are self-evident.
The man has embarked upon the highway to the dark side (the initiation)
Warm smell of peculiar things burnt in ritualistic offerings (as in Bohemian Grove)
The new arrival gets a heady dizziness from the superb brightness of the place as it is being approached and all senses that can caution grow numb and the decision to stay for a little while is made
The usher herself is the embodiment of the all the lucrativeness of that world
Cautioned by the mission bell, the new arrival is fully cognizant of the dangers now (making of a Dr. Faustus like pact with Lucifer)
The new arrival is lead through a darkened corridor (clearly tells about the physical aspect of the building that was converted into "the place") where faint/mocking/encouraging voices extend the suspicious welcome
The wild orgies/celebration/decadence abound in the place and people are gethered for different reasons, and some have been selected as sacrifices (real or mock ritualistic)
The new arrival is denied any repree back bacause as of 1969 the palce had become Satanic with the Holy Spirit removed
At the height of the ritual, the dissidents try for a desperate escape by stabbing the high priest of the chamber instead of the sacrifice, but guess who is the high priest and of course He can't be killed
The situation getting more desperate and the new arrival tries to run away, but once somebody has made a pact with the devil He holds them to it (like at the end of 25th year with Dr. Faustus). You are given all materialism and riches but the soul is for His to keep. The best line probably is "you're programmed to recieve". It is Hell To Pay from that point on.
The beauty of the song is that parallel meanings are all acceptable and hold true.
sma_taz@yahoo.com -
Kyoryu is correct about this song's referring to the music business in California. I was reading an interpretation on a similar website and it had one written by a guy who had been in a college class with a professor who was good friends with Don Henley. He stated that the professor gave them an assignment which included the lyrics to this song, asking them to interpret the lyrics in their own words. at the end, he revealed to the class what Don Henley had told him about why Joe Walsh and the newly revised Eagles had written such a song. If you follow the album, there are songs with titles such a The New Kid In Town, which distinctly speaks about fame and Hollywood. The whole rest of the album seems to follow this same trend.
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I'm actually quite sure that this song is about a prison called San Quentin. That's a prison that is almost on par with Alcatraz, and it is "affectionately" called "Hotel California".
The dark desert highway would then be a life of crime, stopping at the courthouse ("this could be heaven or this could be hell") The girl in the song would then be Justice, and that's why she gets all kinds of "pretty, pretty boys" . . . and, of course, you can "check out" anytime (get killed), but you can never leave. -
This song is about a demonic church (I've heard the Mission Bell). He hints it in the second verse (we havent had that spirit here since 1969), which was the same year the demonic bible was written and (we are all just prisoners here of our own device) and the lyrics (you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave) mean you can leave the church but we still have your soul here.
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I think that with Hotel California and Desperado, the songs are related to drug abuse recovery. Shimmering lights could represent the light at the end of the tunnel, like a higher power. "You can check out any time you like but you can never leave". That is a very true statement to any recovering addict. The disease is not curable only treatable.
Desperado is very similar. Eric Clapton has done songs of recovery and so has Aerosmith to name just a few. I think more people should know this, the price of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. -
The generally agreed upon interpretation is that Hotel California is a song about the music business in California, and the effect that it has on young and naive artists. That's actually kind of the theme of the whole album.
The song talks about the alluring and unreal life of California, and the music business.
"You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave" speaks to the difficulty of leaving the lifestyle, even if you are able to see how ultimately self-destructive it is.
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