I think I know what it is really about now. Tell me your thoughts.
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 thinking 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
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 nineteen sixty-nine’
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!’
After watching that documentary and looking at contrasting views, I came to the conclusion that Frey was a musical prodigy and control freak, while Henley was a poet who was the only one that could get along with Frey. The rest of the band were employees who played their instruments on stage or in the studio, but had little input toward the final product, save their solos. Frey and Henley, politically, were way way way to the left of my views, and that vibe is probably a factor in my passing on them in the '70's.
I am totally shocked at the actual words. Apparently I failed to actually listen to the words of many songs. TKS
That is one creepy song, knowing what we know now. Never was too crazy about it, but I always thought it was about drugs. Now it takes on a whole different meaning.
I wonder what else is “hiding in plain sight”.
That is one creepy song, knowing what we know now. Never was too crazy about it, but I always thought it was about drugs. Now it takes on a whole different meaning.
I wonder what else is “hiding in plain sight”.
I used to drive by the hotel California that was pictured on the album cover everyday.
Loved the Eagles, always hated that song. Now another reason.
Way back in the early 80’s when I was a teen, I went to a church seminar on rock music they were discussing the evils in rock and such.
The speaker discussed Hotel California, he believed they were referring to the church of satan- inside of the album cover is photo of the lobby with the Eagles and friends in the lobby with a person in the balcony thought to be Anton Lavey, founder of the church of satan.
The lyrics “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 speaker believed the “wine” is the Holy Spirit and “they haven’t had that spirit here since 1969” - 1969 was the year that Anton Lavey wrote the satan ic bible.
So essentially they kicked out the Holy Spirit in 1969.
I was about 12 or 13 then and have never forgotten that, and I still love that song
I grew up near LA and one of my friend’s was close to the band and his uncle is listed on the credits for that album. It was always believed the song had satanic overtones and photo inside included Anton LeVey as I recall.
I grew up near LA and one of my friend’s was close to the band and his uncle is listed on the credits for that album. It was always believed the song had satanic overtones and photo inside included Anton LeVey as I recall.