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Hotel California
Eagles Lyrics


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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 thinkin' 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, uh
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys
That 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 1969"
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"

Overall Meaning

“Hotel California” by Eagles is one of the most cryptic and popular songs of all time. It has inspired several interpretations that have continued to fascinate generations of music lovers - a tale of splendor, pleasure, and disillusionment. The song opens with a person driving on a dark desert highway, and as they see a lit-up shimmering light in the distance, they feel compelled to stop at the nearby Hotel California. The hotel and the surrounding landscape exude a feeling of romantic desert dreams, but quickly, things start to get eerie. In the doorway is a woman who greets the singer and guides them down a corridor with voices, initially leading the listener to a sense of apprehension. Eventually, they reach the Hotel’s room, and the song takes on a new twist.


The Hotel and everything else in the area look perfect, but there is something amiss as the woman confirms upon lighting a candle, which represents the persistence of the human spirit. The hotel has an overtone of malevolence, and the people within appear to be prisoners of their own design. The place seems almost like a cult, and the person leading him was impossible to tell if they were good or bad. The room with mirrors on the ceiling and pink champagne on ice highlights the notion of decadence, but with the undercurrent of fear and anxiety. The feast in the master's chamber is ultimately symbolic of the excesses and enormity of the human experience. However, the story comes full circle when the person who initially drove up realizes that they need to get out of the hotel and get back on the road. When they attempt to leave, they are informed by the "nightman" that they may check out but never leave.


Line by Line Meaning

On a dark desert highway
I was driving late at night in the middle of the desert


Cool wind in my hair
The night was chilly and the wind was whipping through my hair


Warm smell of colitas
I could smell the sweet fragrance of burning colitas (marijuana buds)


Rising up through the air
The scent of the colitas was wafting up into the car


Up ahead in the distance
As I drove further, I noticed something in the distance


I saw a shimmering light
There was a faint, flickering light in the distance


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


I had to stop for the night
I decided to stop at the mysterious light for the night


There she stood in the doorway
As I walked up to the light, a woman appeared in the doorway


I heard the mission bell
I heard a bell ringing, as if from a church or mission


And I was thinkin' to myself
I was pondering my situation and what lay ahead


This could be heaven or this could be hell
I felt unsure if this place would be wonderful or dangerous


Then she lit up a candle
The woman illuminated the way with a candle


And she showed me the way
She guided me into the building


There were voices down the corridor
I could hear faint, indistinct voices coming from a distance


I thought I heard them say
It seemed as though the voices were talking about something weird


Welcome to the Hotel California
I arrived at a place that was called Hotel California


Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
The hotel seemed very beautiful and welcoming


Such a lovely face
The hotel had an attractive appearance


Plenty of room at the Hotel California
The hotel had many vacant rooms to offer


Any time of year (any time of year)
No matter the season, the hotel was always open


You can find it here
The location of the hotel was easy to find


Her mind is Tiffany-twisted
The woman at the hotel had a complex, intricate mind


She got the Mercedes bends, uh
She drove a luxury car (Mercedes-Benz)


She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys
Her acquaintances were attractive young men


That she calls friends
She referred to these boys as her friends


How they dance in the courtyard
I observed the boys dancing in the hotel courtyard


Sweet summer sweat
They were sweating due to the warm summer night


Some dance to remember
Some of the boys danced to remember their past experiences


Some dance to forget
Other boys danced to forget their past experiences


So I called up the Captain
I contacted the highest authority figure in the hotel


"Please bring me my wine"
I requested my alcoholic beverage from the Captain


He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969"
The hotel hadn't served that type of liquor in several decades


And still those voices are calling from far away
I could still hear the voices that seemed to be distant but nearby


Wake you up in the middle of the night
They could disturb one's sleep no matter the time


Just to hear them say
It seems like the voices just wanted to be heard


They livin' it up at the Hotel California
People at the hotel were enjoying themselves extravagantly


What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere of the hotel


Bring your alibis
It was important to have an excuse in case something went wrong at the hotel


Mirrors on the ceiling
There were large mirrors on the ceiling of the hotel room


The pink champagne on ice
There was chilled pink champagne in a bucket of ice


And she said, "We are all just prisoners here of our own device"
The woman commented that we were all captives of our own actions


And in the master's chambers
In the most important part of the hotel


They gathered for the feast
People had gathered together to celebrate something


They stab it with their steely knives
They began to attack something with their strong, sharp knives


But they just can't kill the beast
They failed to destroy whatever they were attacking


Last thing I remember
The next thing I knew


I was running for the door
I ran in an attempt to escape the hotel


I had to find the passage back
I needed to locate the way back to where I came from


To the place I was before
I wanted to return to my previous location


"Relax", said the night man
The employee in charge of the night hours attempted to calm me down


"We are programmed to receive
He told me that they were trained to take care of me


You can check out any time you like
I could leave the hotel whenever I wanted


But you can never leave"
Even if I left physically, I could never escape from my experiences and memories of the hotel




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Glenn Lewis Frey, Don Felder, Donald Hugh Henley

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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