What do you think Hotel California means?

Eagles: Hotel California Meaning

Album cover for Hotel California album cover

Song Released: 1977


Hotel California 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...

  1. anonymous
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    May 8th 2013 !⃝

    yeah yeah, we all know about HC, but I had to weigh in about the ignorance of comments that Desperado is about drugs as well lol; it is about a single man who has been riding fences, probably jumping from men to women since all of us are bisexual anyway, and it is simply an urge to settle down with a woman for love and not money (the queen of hearts, not the queen of diamonds!)

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  2. m320753
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    Mar 13th 2013 !⃝

    Don Henley said it was simply about changing from innocence to experienceds

  3. m320753
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    Mar 12th 2013 !⃝

    Don Henley said on a documentary about the eagles that aired on showtime that the song was about moving from innocent to experienced

  4. m320753
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    Mar 11th 2013 !⃝

    Don Henley said on the 3 hour history of the eagles broadcast last week on showtime,the song " Hotel California" is simply about the passage of innocence to experienced, whatever else people want to make the lyrics mean to themselves is fine with the band

  5. anonymous
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    Feb 10th 2013 !⃝

    It's about ending up at Camarillo State Mental Hospital just north of Malibu/ Los Angeles..."you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave"
    Simply interpretation. Someone spent a stint there so I was told. Hum hum

  6. m320753
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    Jan 26th 2013 !⃝

    this song has been disected, scrutinized, interpretated, and whatever other word you would add for 7 years. it all comes down to 1 thing, it means something different to all. and can be interpretated by the same person differently at various points in one's life

  7. Rlove1
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    Jan 26th 2013 !⃝

    Hotel California interpreted as a euphemism for the space one enters when they take LSD

    On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
    When you go you go alone and you have heard lots of words about how cool the the experience is

    Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
    The Marijuana you and the others you are with are smoking while waiting for the effects.

    Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
    The first flashes of the effects

    My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
    Something weird is happening

    I had to stop for the night
    The mind can no longer see where it is going

    There she stood in the doorway;
    The first images beaconing you to enter the experience of LSD. Music (She -The Muse) is probably influencing one altered state of mind

    I heard the mission bell
    church bell -The LSD experience is very spiritual in nature
    all great music is about love or the tragedy that occurs when it is absent (religious context LSD feels like it embodies the real intent of christian church dogma)

    And I was thinking to myself,

    "This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"
    we have been told taking drugs is bad and the intrigue feels like it could be a delusion but the wondrous images and feeling of love seem as if we are entering heaven

    Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
    It is very hard to organize one thoughts during the onset but eventually a coherent stream of thought begins to coalesce
    she (the muse) music is the best guide in the LSD experience

    There were voices down the corridor,
    Something begins to catch ones attention. seems there is a form of information reflected onto the mind from the visions

    I thought I heard them say...

    Welcome to the Hotel California

    Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)

    Such a lovely face
    the visions will have you in awe and will reflect LOVE and good feelings

    Plenty of room at the Hotel California
    there seems to be no limits to one's expanded mind and it's perception of reality.

    Any time of year (Any time of year)
    You can find it here
    This space is always here we just are not aware of it

    Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends.
    The visions are like patterns on a tiffany lamp. following the pattern of
    the Muse in the poetry of Rock and roll lyrics is like riding in plush vehicle driving you deep into your mind.

    She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends
    Rock Stars who serve the muse.

    How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
    Rock and Roll show

    Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
    Who am I? or "Heads all empty without a care"

    So I called up the Captain,
    Ones god concept

    "Please bring me my wine"
    He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine"
    When we meet again we will share a new wine (sic Bible) (morning glory wine)
    Timothy Leary stated at about this time that alcohol is the anti-psychedelic and recommended not mixing them

    And still those voices are calling from far away,
    It is truly the feeling of entering a far away world and there seems to be a dis-embodied voices in ones mind

    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
    The visions will have you in awe most of the time and are leading to pleasing visions of LOVE

    They livin' it up at the Hotel California
    LSD allows your mind to be released, feeling none of the restraints experienced in the normal state of mind.

    What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
    One discovers that all you need is LOVE

    Bring your alibis
    Reasons for not loving and or memories of justifications for when one was unkind to another. self judgement phase

    Mirrors on the ceiling,
    Cant run away from yourself

    The pink champagne on ice
    relax drink it in be at peace for once.

    And she said "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device"
    the limits of your mind are the limits on your idea of yourself and life

    And in the master's chambers,
    LSDs full effect is being felt" Love is confirmed as the force behind Life

    They gathered for the feast
    Many experience peace "the food of love" the first time in a universal way

    They stab it with their steely knives,
    Trying to hate something away, it could be in ones own bad idea of them selves this really causes disruption in one mind when sailing on the sea of love

    But they just can't kill the beast.
    Being overwhelmed with the task of dealing with ones own guilt.
    Can't figure out how to communicate the wonder of love to those who don't under stand
    The thought that the experience is all just fantasy and the world and it's people are far from understanding truth and Love and will continue justifying there lives at the cost of another's life.
    The waking reality enters that the world which does not seem very loving and who is it's master?
    If Love is everything, what about war and murderous death and the purveyors of it.
    Enter the eater of Love (Bad Trip)

    Last thing I remember, I was

    Running for the door

    I had to find the passage back

    To the place I was before
    The devil or a dark force must be real and these thoughts are getting pretty scary..
    and one might want the experience to end at this time.

    "Relax, " said the night man,
    "We are programmed to receive.
    You can check-out any time you like,
    But you can never leave! "
    The LSD experience is hard to shake from ones memory
    And the idea of ones self will likely be changed forever.

    Interpretation by Ron Love

  8. anonymous
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    Nov 27th 2012 !⃝

    It is clearly about heroin I agree with Sandy & other's

  9. anonymous
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    Nov 5th 2012 !⃝

    Easy Breeze



    Nevada, all open and free as pen I write words ...
    Easy breeze opens my window waiting,
    My mother’s gone and I love her today;
    Jesse James of Texas moves into your World’
    Hot pants leaves worried; and Texans alive smiling and bold!

    Easy Breeze all Texan cool honey …;
    Are You German and love dove honey?
    Hard Texan and Nevadan Man ask;
    Near Jesse James last Stance!!

    Nevada, all open and free,
    Was here in time a Calvary?
    Open Texas find my Mother here!!
    Easy Breeze all Texan cool honey …;
    Are You German and love dove honey?

    Easy Breeze all Nevadan; near morning Texas arriving; friends place poker chip as wood burn; day lips!!
    And Calvary well munitions and more!!

    Easy Breeze and Nevadan Flag is adored by Texas!!
    And Jesse Won the Civil American War!!
    (By announcing Texas-Star to fight the Independence of Confederation; there!!)!





    these lyrics by Mr. Alexander Simon!

  10. anonymous
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    Oct 22nd 2012 !⃝

    The Eagles did a good job at not refering to the original songwriter of HOTEL CALIFORNIA, Michael Holland Shepard. This is plagiarism! Pirated music is more common than you might think.

  11. anonymous
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    Sep 8th 2012 !⃝

    I just thought it was about a haunted hotel. This guy stops at a hotel and weird stuff happens.

  12. anonymous
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    Jul 25th 2012 !⃝

    this is to the top rated interpreter:
    everything you have this is exactly as i thought of it, except for the steely knife part. i got this straight out the eagles greatist hits book, and its actually a penile metaphor. straight from glenn/don. i don't remember which one.

  13. anonymous
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    Jul 3rd 2012 !⃝

    The one part of the song which Glen Fry mention on THe Johnathon Brandmier Show in Chicago about 3 weeksago,and started with the closinig lyrics are the closing Lyrics when it says Welocme To The Hotel California,(The State Of CAlifornia) where you are always recieive (You are alwaays welocme to come visit or live) remember you can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave"
    Glen FRy simply explain it as "Most Bands in those Days live in or where from Clalifornia and why he says you can check out anytime you want you can never leave" he said thst was in refernce to some bands or members leaving Califrinia for New York, New Jersey etc but they realized over time they had to go back to Califrnia so you ca checkout anytime you want but you can never leaving meaning you can leave when you want to but you will ulatimately want to come back to Calirfiina to live or just to visit
    The Part of the sogng at the beginig about driving down the Highway and the smell of Cotilas in the air, Cotials ifi speeld it right is the very tip of the plants that grows drugs, th person was high from the chemicals from the tip of the plants
    The Guy driving the car at the beginnig was so high as he wasdriving that when he got to the hotel he did not know where he was but he knew he had to get some sleep

  14. anonymous
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    Jun 23rd 2012 !⃝

    Actually, personally, I thought it was about drugs.
    Here is why...

    And she said, "We are all just prisoners here of our own device"

    'Means They are stuck with the path they chose.

    And in the master's chambers they gathered for the feast

    'Uh, maybe that they may have gathered to use the drugs or such.

    They stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the beast

    'Can't escape drugs! They suck you in and would make you addicted.

    Last thing I remember I was running for the door
    I had to find the passage back to the place I was before

    'He was trying to get away from that road of drugs. He's trying to become clean.

    "Relax," said the night man, "We are programmed to receive...
    You can check out any time you like but you can never leave"

    'Means he saying you can never stop once you start.

    THANKS FOR READING

  15. anonymous
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    Jun 16th 2012 !⃝

    i am babak from iran/ this song is story my life in iran / story more young people in iran/ Relax said the nightman
    We are programed to receive
    You can check out any time you like
    But you can never leave/// oh i cant.




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