Lyrics for Hotel California as interpreted by Demau Senae

Hotel California 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
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 face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year, you can find it here

Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes-Benz
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 face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
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
The 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 checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave!

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d0gb0y2oo2
04-19-2003

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You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave!

Checkout= killing urself
Leave= free from jail

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d0gb0y2oo2
04-19-2003

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Did anyone say going to jail???

Drugs makes lots of sense but i always thought it was about going to prison. The songs done it a sarcastic sort of way for the most part but listen and think about it.

Only at the last paragraph does he get somewhat serious

"You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave!" means u can kill urself and leave jail anytime but u will never leave the walls and...

Well let me know what u think

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fadel
04-16-2003

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oops

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fadel
04-16-2003

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I dont think this song is about drugs.. it's a metaphor of something on a bigger scale like life itself.. drugs limit it a lot. well it could be about drugs.. part of it.
But its about getting through life in general.. as for the people that said its about the pressures of the music industry and the whole california culture are on the right track.. their explanations even support my little theory.

oh and please.. i dont have to be reminded every time by some wise ass that songs are like art and can be interpreted however we want. thank you.. i dont really need your permission to interpret a song.. we were just a little curious on knowing what the songwriter wrote it about.. do we have to say this everytime? and the reason why they use metaphors is to describe things better and give you a lively, vivid picture.

anyway.. the lyrics are very well written. They are very haunting.. they sound like a horror movie. And specially with the song's ending. It ends on the guy being stuck in that place for good.. it's really left unclear.. Makes me think of "in the mouth of madness" everytime.. it's a horror movie with a similar idea.
Also reminds me of "the shining" someone already said that i think.

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fadel
04-16-2003

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I dont think this song is about drugs.. it's a metaphor of something on a bigger scale like life itself.. drugs limit it a lot. well it could be about drugs.. part of it.
But its about getting through life in general.. as for the people that said its about the pressures of the music industry and the whole california culture are on the right track.. their explanations even support my little theory.

oh and please.. i dont have to be reminded every time by some wise ass that songs are like art and can be interpreted however we want. thank you.. i dont really need your permission to interpret a song.. we were just a little curious on knowing what the songwriter wrote it about.. do we have to say this everytime? and the reason why they use metaphors is to describe things better and give you a lively, vivid picture.

anyway.. the lyrics are very well written. They are very haunting.. they sound like a horror movie. And specially with the song's ending. It ends on the guy being stuck in that place for good.. it's really left unclear.. Makes me think of "in the mouth of madness" everytime.. it's a horror movie with a similar idea.
Also reminds me of "the shining" someone already said that i think.

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fadel
04-16-2003

Rated 0 
I dont think this song is about drugs.. it's a metaphor of something on a bigger scale like life itself.. drugs limit it a lot. well it could be about drugs.. part of it.
But its about getting through life in general.. as for the people that said its about the pressures of the music industry and the whole california culture are on the right track.. their explanations even support my little theory.

oh and please.. i dont have to be reminded every time by some wise ass that songs are like art and can be interpreted however we want. thank you.. i dont really need your permission to interpret a song.. we were just a little curious on knowing what the songwriter wrote it about.. do we have to say this everytime? and the reason why they use metaphors is to describe things better and give you a lively, vivid picture.

anyway.. the lyrics are very well written. They are very haunting.. they sound like a horror movie. And specially with the song's ending. It ends on the guy being stuck in that place for good.. it's really left unclear.. Makes me think of "in the mouth of madness" everytime.. it's a horror movie with a similar idea.
Also reminds me of "the shining" someone already said that i think.

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Stairwaytoheaven
04-14-2003

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Teddy is right, it makes more sense than any of the other analogies that ppl have been giving. I can see how Drugs, the LA rockscene and Hell are all related though. There doesn't have to be one right answer, it could be symbolic of many things.

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Muzzy
04-03-2003

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Lmfao!

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wdfarmer
03-30-2003

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Some of the interpretations on this page have been on the theme of drug addiction. A few years ago I wrote the following lyrics for "Hotel California", but they're about a different kind of addiction. Enjoy. :)

The Taco Bell Burrito
(Written in 1995 to the tune of "Hotel California" by the Eagles, and presented to the rather unusual Usenet newsgroup news:alt.fan.taco-bell.)

On a dark desert highway
Cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of burritos
Rising up through the air

Up ahead in the distance
I saw a bright yellow light
My head grew heavy and my mind grew dim
I had to stop for a bite

There I stood at the menu
Reading "Taco Bell"
I was trying to decide
Did I want bean dip wrapped in a shell?

Then they took down my order
And they asked me to pay
There were voices in the kitchenette
As I walked away

Welcome to the Taco Bell Burrito!
Such a lovely place! Stuff to feed your face!
Plenty of food in the Taco Bell Burrito!
Mild or hot with spice - tacos, beans and rice!

Cameras on the ceiling
You fill your cup with ice
Some would call it hell on earth
But for me it's paradise

In their massive freezers
There are tons of seasoned meat
They slather it with sauce and cheese
And they serve it up to eat!

Last thing I remember
I was ordering some more
They had to bring in forty men
To pick me up from the floor

I've tried to avoid it
But I can't stay away
If I didn't have to sleep or work
That is where I'd stay

Welcome to the Taco Bell Burrito!
Such a lovely place! Stuff to feed your face!
Plenty of food in the Taco Bell Burrito!
Mild or hot with spice - tacos, beans and rice!!

(c) 1995 by Wayne Farmer

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Muzzy
03-29-2003

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You're right Joefainrock, my bad :(

Not a fan of that kind of music. But none the less it is still a reference to Steely Dan when he says Steely Knives. Maybe they toured together.

I would like to know from someone who knows for sure what this song is about. It's really intriguing.

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MeTAlFrEaK88
03-16-2003

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From all of the interpretations that I have heard the one that I have heard is what DRDERAIL said. What I have been told is that the picture on the inside cover of the album is Anton Levy who is the leader of the satanist church (cult) in Cali. Any of the interpretations are possible but that is the one that I have heard. Just rock on to the song... it has pretty good riffs and beats.

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joefainrock
03-10-2003

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Dude, there was never a member of the Eagles nor Steely Dan named Steely Dan.

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Muzzy
03-06-2003

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'Colitas' is marijuana, so maybe the driver was high, which caused him to wreck..

Really interesting on the whole hell idea though, I never heard or thought of it like that. Really makes alot of sense though. But I never thought of Don Henley as a devil worshiper lol. And the 2nd verse I don't get too well, could someone explain how there is any reference to hell in the 2nd verse?

Steely knives is a play on words, same as mercedes bends. Steely Dan was a members of the Eagles.

Btw Joe Walsh is one of the greatest guitar players ever, displayed very well in this song, which has one of the best solos ever.

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majii
03-03-2003

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I'm gonna suggest something that no one has thrown out for a while - what if the song is just one bad trip (i'm talking about acid here)?

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AllThERaGe91
09-29-2002

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This song has to be about a cult. Even though the previous posts stated nothing about this, if you backmask the song (play it backwards) at the part that says "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...", there is a message that says, "'Yes, Satan had help. Yeah Satan, he organized, oh, he organized his own religion. Yeah, when he knows he should, how nice it was delicious, he puts it in a vat he fixes it for his sons and gives it away." The first time I read about that, I thought that it was bogus. Then I actually listened to it backwards and it really freaked me out. I don't know whether it was intentional, accidental, or a message from Satan himself to the listener.

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AllThERaGe91
09-29-2002

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This song has to be about a cult. Even though the previous posts stated nothing about this, if you backmask the song (play it backwards) at the part that says "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...", there is a message that says, "'Yes, Satan had help. Yeah Satan, he organized, oh, he organized his own religion. Yeah, when he knows he should, how nice it was delicious, he puts it in a vat he fixes it for his sons and gives it away." The first time I read about that, I thought that it was bogus. Then I actually listened to it backwards and it really freaked me out. I don't know whether it was intentional, accidental, or a message from Satan himself to the listener.

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grouping
09-26-2002

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It sounds to me like a bad dream. There are all kinds of images and voices. Almost like the state of schizophrenia.

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GabeQ714
09-16-2002

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I think TaddyTeddy is right on the mark.
At the begging of the song, the narrator dies. It was common in the days of the California missions for them to ring the bell when someone died. Then he tries to figure out if he's in heaven or hell. Also, many people report heading towards a bright light during their near death experiences. Ok, so the guy's dead. So, just like Teddy says, he encounters a guide.
The only thing else I can add that Teddy didn't mention is, at the end of the song, the people gather for the feast in the master's chambers. Well, I think the people themselves are the feast.

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TaddyTeddy
09-11-2002

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The song is actually about Hell. As noted in the "Encyclopedia of Hell" by Miriam Van Scott under the entry for "Album Cover Art", this album was the most successful album to use Hell as a selling point. The idea of the song is that the so-called Hotel California is Hell. The narrator is driving on a highway at the beginning of the song, and is killed by another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction ("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").
He is greeted by a figure that resembles the guide that often accompanies travelers to Hell in many tales (such as the poet Virgil, who accompanied Dante through Hell in "The Divine Comedy"). Eerie voices explain to him that there is "plenty or room at the Hotel California" (a reference to the idea that Hell has no limits to the number of souls it can hold). His guide shows him the grim, morose hotel and it's features (Dancing people that resemble the shades of legend, the eternal wails of people, darkly twisted visions of the rooms at the Hotel, etc.). His guide tells him that everybody in the Hotel is a prisoner of their own device (i.e. they commited some form of sin, and weren't able to gain redemption for it, and, therefore, will forever be a prisoner of Hell).
When he gets to the master chamber, there is a feast but there is no food. All the guests have knives to try and kill the Beast that will not die (either a depiction of Satan, or Cerubus).
In the end, the narrator tries to leave, to "find the passage back to the place I was before." Many depictions of Hell describe such an exit, from which, if you are lucky enough to find and prove to be even luckier in making it through, you will be able to leave Hell, and return to whichever plane you wish to return to. However, our narrator is stopped by the doorman (an allusion to the gatekeeper of Hell that appears in many of the stories, such as the Divine Comedy, and the Aeneid). This doorman, told him to relax (in other words, don't bother trying), because they are only "programmed to receive", and while you can checkout anytime you like, you can still never leave (a reference to the inscription over the Gates of Hell in the Divine Comedy: "Abandon Hope, all ye who enter here"


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geneticschizophrenic
09-10-2002

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hmmm interesting.i heard it was about prostitution.that satanic cult is an intersting one. please bring me my wine,the blood of christ.since 1969,fiddle with the digits and u get 666.

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Music4life
09-03-2002

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or it could be about fame......that makes sence also


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Music4life
09-03-2002

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After reading the lyrics........I think it's about drugs FO SHO!! "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 checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave!"
The last line says it all.......you can "checkout" but you can never leave!!! You can never get rid of your addiction...it always lingers....and all it takes is something to set it off....that is why the nightman is always there! He's trying to get away from his drug addiction

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whitepoett
09-01-2002

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this is about the first satan cult ever.

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hotarukataki
09-01-2002

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I can see where the drugs, the cult, the showbiz, and even the mental hospital metaphors come from, and they're prolly more right than my interpretation, but I feel that this song is about love. This about it. He's talking about a woman. That he met after stopping for the night. Maybe she drugged him, maybe she slept with him, and is charming his, but he hears the voices of her past lovers in the back of his mind to tell him to beware, like a sixth sense. With some girls, you can just tell, and I think that this woman he meets has fooled him, and something about her is making him uneasy, like being in a haunted house, or in a metal hospital with the people reaching out to warn you to turn back. I love the one line, " 'Relax,' said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave!" Sounds to me like the night man is talking about men when they fall in love with a deceptive woman. When you fall in love, you just can't fall back out. She haunts you.
"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"
A cheating, maneating woman, and the men she's hurt. They can't live with or without her.
"They gathered for the feast
The stab it with their steely knives
But they just can't kill the beast" Like a group of hunters trying to stab at a beast, the past lovers couldn't stop her wild way of life, and this new lover can't either.

Okay, i'm done here, just my views. But really, none of us, except the lyricist himself, could ever tell us what this song means, because I doubt many of us when through what he did or know what he was thinking. Even the lyricist could listen to this song now and get a different meaning out of it. None of us are wrong, none of us is right.


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SquAsyS
08-26-2002

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Wonderfull song, it reminds me so many things that I really like to display on my eyes... Its my memory but who don't have one?

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