Heat

In Snopes they now discuss the meaning behind the Eagles song Hotel California.

I had always thought it was about drug abuse.

Here's the story:

http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/hotel.htm

lostatmidnight

it has long been considered a tale about 80's excess, fame, lose of innocense, the soul, all that good stuff since I can remember....

GuessWho

How can The Eagles sing about the 80's in 1976????

Heat

Satan let them look into the future...

Mistafadedglory

I just figured it was a place that they stayed when they ran out of gas on a dark desert highway in California.

cungar

I remember arguing about this with my sister. I said it was about the lure of drugs, money and women in California and she just thought it was about a haunted hotel.

Darren Garrison

So, you're saying that Billy Mayo was WRONG? My world just turned upside down...

lostatmidnight

hahahah...they must be psychic...hey, I was only born in '78...76, 78, 80's, they were all the same...

Josh-da-man

Either way, it's a damned spooky song.

Joel

I love the song, and never really care about the meaning behind it. The one that introduced me to the song by a chance was really surprised that I would actually like it. He said that the song was harsh enough for a girl like me So I decided not to memorize the lyrics like I always do to my favourite songs. Instead, I just enjoy the music, especially the guitar parts.

"You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave .." Woooo .. spooky, yeah.

vhgong

Here is what i read a looong time ago about the meaning of that song(Don't ask me where, i can't remember). It says that song is basically about a traveller who wind up in Hotel California which was a Satanic Church. But anyway here are some intepretations of that song.


--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

First part pretty much as described, he was tired and had to find a place to rest. He found a hotel and was greeted by a lady from the hotel and he described how the hallways was.



--Her mind is Tiffany twisted
--She's got the Mercedes bends
--She's 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

Second part, basically there was a party going on with lotsa guys.
But here is the interesting bit, the part that says
--So I called up the Captain
--Please bring me my wine
--He said
--We haven't had that spirit here since 1969
It was believe that a famous Satanic Priest in that time (Antone Levy or something like that) bought a hotel to convert it into a satanic church in 1969. And you noticed that when he asked for wine, the respond was, the spirit have not been here since 1969. If i am not mistaken, wine also symbolized the Holy Spirit in the Bible thus it means, since the hotel was bought over, the Holy Spirit has not been welcomed there since 1969.



--Mirrors on the ceiling
--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 nightman
--We are programed to recieve
--You can check out any time you like
--But you can never leave

The last part is basically, they were having some ceremony in the chambers and probably somebody got possessed by a spirit and they were trying to bring it under control(Stab it with the steely knives). So that guy was trying to escape after seeing all that and then was told that he can leave the hotel but never can leave the group.(You know its like those religious groups which stalk you if you decide to leave).


There, thats all. You have every right to your own intepretations but don't flame me for this. Just providing another info about the song.

chanster

I always thought it was just about the allure of California

Heat

Back in 1991, as I was finishing up college, I was dating this girl who really, really wanted to have an orgasm while listening to Hotel California.

I obliged, of course.

DonnachaOne

I always thought it was about vampires when I was young.

That would make a kick-ass From Dusk Till Dawn movie...

al_bundy

Someone once told me it was about being in hell.

caligulathegod

[Mr. Brown]"It's all about a guy with a big dick..."[/Mr. Brown}

Cusm

I have read interviews with Don Henely and he has stated that it is what you make of it. As far as I know, they have left the meaning up to the fans.
Although there is a kinda of running joke with Steely Dan in the song, Stab it with a Steely knife, that they have talked about. Sort of a responce to Steely Dan mentioning them in one of their songs.