Hotel California
Cat Empire Lyrics

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
I was driving on a long and empty road with the cool wind blowing through my hair.

Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
The scent of burning marijuana was filling the air.

Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
In the distance, a light was shining and it caught my attention.

My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I was feeling tired and my vision was getting blurry.

I had to stop for the night
I needed to find a place to spend the night and rest.

There she stood in the doorway
When I arrived at the hotel, a woman was standing in the entrance.

I heard the mission bell
I could hear the sound of the bell from the nearby church.

And I was thinking to myself
I was pondering and reflecting on the situation.

'This could be heaven or this could be Hell
I was uncertain whether the hotel was a good or bad place to stay.

Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
The woman lit a candle to guide me to my room.

There were voices down the corridor
I could hear faint voices coming from another part of the building.

I thought I heard them say
I believed that I heard the distant voices welcome me to the hotel.

Welcome to the Hotel California
The voices were indeed welcoming me to the Hotel California.

Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
The hotel seemed like a very beautiful and pleasant place to stay.

Such a lovely face
The woman who welcomed me had a very friendly and attractive face.

Plenty of room at the Hotel California
There were many available rooms for guests to stay in.

Any time of year (any time of year) you can find it here
The hotel was open and accepting guests all year round.

Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
The woman at the hotel was materialistic and had expensive taste.

She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
The woman had a lot of handsome young men who were her companions.

How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat
The young men were dancing in the courtyard with summer heat causing them to sweat.

Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
Some of the young men were dancing to remember the good times, while others were dancing to forget their problems.

So I called up the Captain
I asked the hotel staff to help me out.

'Please bring me my wine
I requested a bottle of wine to be brought to my room.

He said, "we haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty-nine
The hotel hasn't served that particular brand of wine for a very long time.

And still those voices are calling from far away
I could still hear the distant voices welcoming guests to the hotel.

Wake you up in the middle of the night
The voices were so loud that they could wake someone up from their sleep at night.

Just to hear them say
The voices kept repeating the same welcoming message over and over again.

They livin' it up at the Hotel California
The young men were living life to the fullest at the Hotel California.

What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise), bring your alibis
The hotel offered many pleasant surprises to its guests, and people needed a good reason to be staying at the hotel.

Mirrors on the ceiling
There were mirrors on the ceiling of my hotel room.

The pink champagne on ice
There was a big bottle of pink champagne placed in a bucket of ice.

And she said, 'we are all just prisoners here, of our own device
The woman who welcomed me told me that we are all trapped in this hotel by our own free will.

And in the master's chambers
In the private quarters of the hotel's owner.

They gathered for the feast
A large group of people had gathered for a grand meal.

They stab it with their steely knives
The people were cutting and eating their food with sharp knifes made of steel.

But they just can't kill the beast
They are unable to completely get rid of the animalistic desires and temptations within themselves.

Last thing I remember, I was
The last thing I can recall before I lost consciousness was this.

Running for the door
I was sprinting to escape the hotel and its adverse effects.

I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
I needed to find a way out and return to where I was before checking into the hotel.

'Relax' said the night man
The hotel staff who worked the night shift told me to calm down.

'We are programmed to receive
The staff were trained to handle guests who were trying to leave the hotel.

You can check out any time you like
I could leave the hotel and check out anytime that I wanted to.

But you can never leave!
But it would be impossible to ever truly escape the hotel's impact on my life.