although i dont particularly like the song, i do love the lyrics to Hotel California. i was wondering if anybody had any good interpretations of the lyrics? the idea Ive heard the most is that the hotel is a symbol of drug addiction, the song being about how its nearly impossible to get free of hard drugs. MY idea is that the hotel is a symbol of the sort of life thats fun-but-shallow, materialistic, and self-centered; the song being about how hard it is to get out of that sort of lifestyle once you get into it. I got that idea from the pink champagne, mirrors on the cieling, mercedes benz, and the obvious opulence of the hotel.
in case you dont know the song, here are the 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 doorway;
I heard the mission bell
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'
'There's 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 Benz
She's got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, 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're living it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise! (what a nice surprise!)
Bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling, pink champagne on ice
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 where I was before
'Relax' said the night man, 'We are programed to receive'
'You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave'

............
Of course, it could just be about a creepy, twilight-zone sinister hotel!
tell me what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ24b19G7sU

If anybody can find me the SNL version of Hotel California I will be eternally grateful. It's hilarious lol.

When you read the lyrics it does sound like a creepy twilight zone hotel >_>. A stop in the evil parts of the universe before you reach the light .

Good Old Classic Rock!!

I love this song.

I was always under the impression it was about Drug and Alcohol Addiction. Its just makes so much sense to be that...there again the lyrics are so amazing I suppose they can be interpretted however you like.

With addiction people always say whether you're clean or sober you're only one drink/drug away from being right back to the beginning of the cycle again

You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave

Anyway, thats my contribution.

Good thread. I love analysing Lyrics.

There has always been a sort of story that the song is really about the 1st church of Satan that is supposedly located in California somewhere.
I remember there was something about the line - So I called up the Captain, 'Please bring me my wine'
He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since 1969' - that wine was supposed to be the symbol of the spirit of Christ and the year 1969 was when the church was supposed to have opened.

I don't know how true any of that is except that I may have used the word "supposed" a few too many times.

What's really weird is that my grandma used to sing Superfreak to me at bedtime.

I was told that the initials for Hotel California go into the initials THC ( The Hotel California ) - with significance to Tetra Hydro Cannibinol - one of the ingredients to Marijuana. Another story I'm not sure of, is in the album cover - there is supposedly a robed figure in the background that is said to be the 'devil'.

Song Meaning: The Eagles -Hotel California Here is a forum dedicated to discussing song meanings. I think tho, the consensus is that the song is about addiction.