This is a euphemistic and metaphorically riddled interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles that was written while the band was getting high in Los Angeles. A lot of songs in the 60s/70s/even 80s were about substance use, but they couldn’t overtly make reference to it so they wrote in code instead, which made the lyrics difficult for some people (record companies) to understand. It was also a popular way of not getting cancelled back in the day.
People can debate where this song stands in rock history but that guitar solo (two guitars!) is legendary! I have always loved Joe Walsh’s sound. He added a lot to a band that was already awesome. 🎶🎸
I agree! They were great but to me they were starting to have a country sound. Joe was just what they needed to stay a rock band. I wish I'd been old enough to see them on this tour.
The eerie music mirrors the lyrics perfectly. The song is a metaphor for fame and fortune isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be…excess, addiction, etc…it could be heaven or hell, like what happened to Elvis. He could never get away from it and he couldn’t deal.
The song is about the excesses of the 1970's, which was most evident in Los Angeles at the time (because that was the "center of the rock earth" at the time ... Another song you should check out along the same lines is a tune by David and David, called, "Welcome to the Boomtown"
My favorite thing about reaction videos from all over the world is it just shows you how incredibly universal music can be. Timeless tune. Great reaction.
This is my favorite song ever written, I remember my dad playing this album over and over when I was a kid. Was about 6 when I think I heard it for first time and it gave me goosebumps. The song is about California as a whole, back it the 70s alot of people where going their to find the American Dream. It was basically like a hotel, people from all over the states would go there for the Hollywood live, the money, fame and drugs. And you gotta remember Don Henley and Glenn Fry were from small rural towns ( Don actually being a farmer boy from Texas), so this song is about them experiencing California for the first time and learning how dark America can really be, the dark under belly of the American dream, the greed, money, drugs, corruption, etc. The Hollywood life, it sucks you in, but it's almost impossible to escape, hence the quote "you can check-out anytime you like, but you can never leave". If you want to listen to a live version, check out the live version from the "Hell Freezes Over" tour. Really different to the original, acoustic vibe
i was always under the impression that it was about a old hippy commune/cult camp, that don henley once visited with a old girlfriend he had, where she came from and who went out trying to get new recuits.
The BIG 5 OF ALL TIME: 1. Bohemian Rapsody. 2. Stairway to Heaven. 3. Hotel California. 4. Sultans of Swing. 5. Unchained Melody. Anyone of these songs will be the best ever written.
In a interview with Don Henley and Glen Frye the two said that the song was inspired by a old TV show called Twilight Zone. They wanted to give a mystic feeling to the song. The line about 'stab it with their steely knives but they just cant kill the beast." is a homage to another group that they are friends with, Steely Dan. All of the music was written by one of the guitar players, Don Felder who even wrote the guitar solos. Glen and Don henley wrote the lyrics together. This interview is available on UA-cam here.
My mom only let me hear country western music when I was very young. When I was six, I went to my friends house, and his older sister had this on the living room record player, I though it was magic. I was in love with rock from then on.
I saw Led Zeppelin at Wembley North London in 1975 for 75 PENCE or ONE DOLLAR......[ink Floyd play Dark Side Of The Moon at Earls Court West London for £1 or $1.34 and on two successive weeks Creedence Clearwater Revival and Deep Purple at the World famous Royal Albert Hall in West London for 25 PENCE or 34 CENTS EACH. So FOUR World-Class Bands for a total cost of £2.25 or $ 2.76... YOU WERE ROBBED.....LOL
Hotel California was a state mental hospital in Camarillo California that had a rehabilitation program for drug and alcohol addiction.. Many famous actors and musicians spent time there..
Success always looks good when you're chasing it. When you reach it few can really handle it. We become prisoners of our own device. Money doesn't make you better. It only magnifies who you are. Living the rockstar life always looks great until you can't escape!
It is worth watching the live version of this song at Capitol Center 1977. You can see Don Felder & Joe Walsh tear up that solo. You are spot on with the meaning of the song being about the high life of California and how easy it is to fall victim to the hedonism of the time.
Don Henley says it is funny how a song about a drunken drive through the desert song, has turned into so many twisted and dark meaning to so many people. Some of the lyrics are just for effect.
A friendly demurral: "She lit up a candle/And she showed me the way"? "The stab it with their steely knives/But they just can't kill the beast"? To me this bespeaks heroin, you could substitute another dope du jour. Also, and not for nothing, the people who wrote the song, or indeed those who produce any work of art, do not necessarily own a definitive interpretation of it. But I am an unreconstructed modernist! ;-)
@@singvogel7895 There were a lot of hedonistic clubs in the seventies where this could have literally meant they were having a ritual of some sort. But probably, Henley wrote this during dinner and it was just a cool spin on the words. Something a teen might say with utensil in their hands.
(History of the Eagles) -The song writers of Hotel California: Don Henley stated: " It is a song about a journey from innocents' to experience, that's all." Glen Frye co-writer stated that they both enjoyed writing "Hidden Meanings" in their songs - something personal / private that no-one will ever figure out. He further implied that some songs have these personal "Easter Eggs" but not all of them. That's how they responded to the question what is Hotel California about - what is the meaning?
This song and Life in the Fast Lane pretty much sums up the scene in the seventies. The "live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse" mentality, fueled mainly by copious amounts of cocaine, etc. was fun while it lasted, but left one empty and wrecked. I honestly didn't think I'd live past 30, but here I am, 65 years old, enjoying the music of my youth with a whole new generation. Makes my heart happy.
Hey Guys! Good news !!! The Eagles reaction video that was blocked before now is available for y'all. Also, don't forget to check us on Patreon. We post full album reactions and some live performances of your favorite bands there regularly. Peace!
One of the best songs from one of the best records of the late 70’s and an iconic bit of guitar work. Love it. Some of us old timers from Detroit remember 12 string guitarist and co-lyric writer Glenn Frey from way back, when he was a 19 year old kid. In 1968, he played acoustic guitar and sang backup on his friend Bob Seger's single, "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man". Humble beginnings for both musicians.
Great reaction to a great song! You get a preview of the storyline --- "something dangerous/deadly up ahead" -- 13 seconds into the song with the foreboding rattle, which, for us who live in the California desert, instantly suggests a rattlesnake.
I have a personal Joe Walsh story... Back in 2012 I was running a small Italian restaurant in NYCs Hells Kitchen neighborhood. Joe Walsh walks in with his wife and an old couple, was either his or his wife's parents. My maitre'd is about 23 yrs old, doesn't recognize him. Seats Joe and his guests at a terrible table by the entrance to the bathrooms. I got to her, ask if she knows she just sat a VIP at a terrible table. She doesn't know who he is, so I cant blame her. I went to the table, and whispered to him that I'd have a corner table in a few moments. But he was super humble! He didn't care at all about the "bad" table. Said he and his family were fine. So later in the night i was back in the kitchen chilling with the chef, when the maitre'd came in and said "that guy on table 43 (Joe's table) is outside and he wants to talk to you." So I rush out. And Joe Walsh tells me he just wanted to tell me he really appreciated that i was looking out for him. We chatted for a while about music and some Eagles stories. A real special moment. One of my favorite celebrity meetings. In NYC I've met so many celebs, from J.Lo to Meryl Streep to Michelle Obama to Daniel Day Lewis and even to Yoko Ono...but Joe Walsh was definitely one of the most memorable because he was such a good guy. I'll never forget meeting him.
Don Henley said in a interview about what the song is about. He said he still doesn't know what it's about. He said that while they were working on this album guitarist Don Felder was just playing around then he started playing the intro to this song. Don tells him "wait a minute, play that again" Don couldn't really remember all of the cords but they had everything recorded. He played it back and then while listening he said out loud "I see a hotel" And he wrote the entire song based on the intro.
There are a whole lot of bands and rock music from the late 60's to the mid 80's. Only about 10 bands can truly be called top tier, the Eagles are definitely one of them.
Theres something about the guitar in this song. It's like an extension of the lyrics. It's not just mindless riffing to pull off a crazy solo. Every single note should be there, has to be there. It keeps telling the story.
No doubt one of the greatest songs of all time & as for the meaning from the first listen I took it that they had died & gone to Heaven or,...............
THE GREAT JOE WALSH JOINED THE EAGLES WITH HIS AWESOME GUITAR. MORE 70'S MAGIC. THEY HAVE MANY SONGS. ONE OF FAVORITES "WITCHIE WOMAN" SOME OTHER GREAT JOE WALSH WHEN HE WAS WITH THE JAMES GANG, "FUNK 49".. "WALK AWAY", "THE BOMBER"... SOLO SONGS "ROCKY MOUNTAIN WAY", "THE CONFESSOR", "LIFE'S BEEN GOOD SO FAR", "IN THE CITY"..
My favourite band, seen them in concert live, just pure class. This record I know inside out after playing it so many times. Listen to the acoustic version on 'hell freezes over' album. Never studied the lyrics but after this reaction I think I will. 👍👍
This song is a masterpiece regardless of how you look at it. Seeing them do it live is a total out of body experience. Congrats for slipping it in under the radar. They usually get blocked.
On the 3 hour documentary on the Eagles, Glen Frey talks about the meaning behind 'Hotel California'. I find it the most satisfying of all the hypotheses and pontificating about 'The True Meaning' all over the internet. Frey indicated that the song was about the loss of 'innocence'. The lines 'You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave!' and 'I was running for the door. I had to find a passage back to the place I was before.' Points out that once you have had sex and experienced adult life, no matter how hard you try or want to go back to the 'innocence'... You can't. The rest is narration of before, after and the journey from - to. Some have pointed to the decadence of the 70's and how shallow people in the culture had become, but I maintain that every line fits with the 'innocence lost' journey and realization fits perfectly. One might argue that there are vague references to drugs, hallucinatory experiences, occult imagery and the trappings of wealth and/or success. But, think back to how you 'were before' and how you are after... and I think you'll agree. Listen again (and again) with this in mind. :)
Technically, the guitar bit at the end would be called a duet, rather than a solo. And it’s probably the most recognizable duet in rock music. As for the song’s meaning, Don Henley says it’s, “about a journey from innocence to experience.” I like that he leaves some room for interpretation of the song. Though there have been some pretty wild interpretations of the song over the years. Lol
My songs that I write may mean one thing in the beginning but they can and do take on many other shapes as time passes. And that is the Beauty of music.
Absolutely. Don’t you think music might have layers of meaning even the writer isn’t consciously aware of. Plus there are all the meanings individual listeners bring to a song. It’s a lovely thing.
According to The Eagles...the song is a "journey from innocence to experience"!!! Makes total sense to me!!!! Favorite song of my lifetime and I'm 68....so you know I've had lots to choose from!!!!🎵🎼🎶💜💜💜💜 Find a live version just to watch!!!!😊😊😊😊
The line that goes "we haven't had that spirit here since 1969" I've always taken as a reference to the Manson family murders. The end of the peace and love of the 60s cultural scene. Hotel California seems to me to be about the emptiness of modern celebrity and the trappings of fame for fame's sake.
It was said by Henley that this song is about a journey from innocence to experience. There are many interpretations of this song like darkness & light, good & evil, youth & age. I have tickets to see them in Oct 2021 at The Forum in LA. The concert was changed two times this year due to the Covid pandemic. The best version to watch of this song especially if you love acoustic is the live 1994 Hell Freezes Over Concert. Thanks for your reaction.
there are two hotels in california, that fit this song. The first in Beverley Hills, which I believe was the inspiration. The second, along I-5 in Santa Nella, Ca.
Another band that used two lead guitars is the Allman Brothers. Dicky Betz and Duane Allman both played lead guitar and they really complimented each other. They also had two drummers playing at the same time.
Just found your channel, immediately subscribed. Hotel California is a metaphor for the music/movie industry in California.....a story of temptation, greed, sex, addiction....."you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.".....the money and fame keeps you invested once you are in the industry.
The great thing about this song is,you can have many opinions as to its meaning,evertime you listen to the lyrics you can have a different interpretation...great song...love your reactions guyz 👍👍👍
The song is about the beginnings of bands and the transition of small venues to bigger stadiums and the cost to get it. The cost is what the song is about. Not only money, but your soul and your morals and values. What will you give of yourself to have something you want?
they are one of the greatest live bands ever. so, if you want to treat yourself, there´s 2 live versions of this song sticking out (for me): live capitol 1977 ... and live mtv 1994. those two are different, because 1977 is big stage and 1994 is acoustic.
Listen and react to "Lynyrd Skynyrd" - Free Bird. And listen to 3 lead guitarists. It's kind of like The stairway to heaven for southern rock. They have many great songs as well. I know every word to every song they've ever put out.
Good call on Skynyrd and showing these Georgia boys( the country, not the state) some classic southern rock. Skynyrd, Allman Bros, Marshall Tucker, 38 Special, etc.
@@helenwilliams7065 YES INDEED .. Most definitely the Oakland live version .. think it was in '77. Don't react to this one if you don't do this live video version .. SRSLY!!
There are many stories about this song and it still goes on today about the issue of what this is about.. It never stops.. I could add some things but it probably would be too depressing.
Life is just like this...ur in heaven sometimes in hell,good feeling and bad feelings and memories is all we have...past is past,whats important is that we learn and move on.
There's a live version of 'New Kid in Town' on YT that really highlights the depth of the band's talent pool. Very impressive, especially when you take into account how many went on to produce solo hits.
In an interview with Don Henley, Henley comments on the meaning of the famous song Hotel California, “The song is about this who live in excess and who are never satisfied
Don Henley and/or Glenn Frey said the beginning of the song suggests the opening to an episode of The Twilight Zone TV series, where a guy is driving through the desert and finds a strange hotel. Also, the line "They stab it with their steely knives..." is a message to Steely Dan, who mention The Eagles in their song, "Everything You Did".
It is said that the melody is based on the Jethro Tull song "We used to know.." from the album " Stand up " from 1969... The Eagles was actually warming up for Jethro Tull on their 1971 US tour.... Ian Anderson has commented this in a positive way in several intervjues...
It is about losing your identity, soul and, sometimes, even your mind in the Southern California lifestyle. (if you plenty of money and drugs). Think about it- That is your homework.
The writer of the song, Don Henley says; “It’s about the dark-underbelly of the American Dream, it’s about excess, it’s about narcissism, it’s about the music business.” However, he also mentioned that it has a million interpretations!
The Eagles, especially Henley, are infamous blockers. Especially this song so congrats for getting it on your channel.
I can believe it-- what is his problem??
The drumming,singing,bass, rhythm,duet guitar solo is way too perfect heavy in my chemistry periodic table
One of the best songs ever! Joe Walsh and Don Felder battling out with their guitars at the end of the song is iconic.🎸🌟🔥
Rock and roll doesn't get any better. Thanks for sharing.
This is a euphemistic and metaphorically riddled interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles that was written while the band was getting high in Los Angeles. A lot of songs in the 60s/70s/even 80s were about substance use, but they couldn’t overtly make reference to it so they wrote in code instead, which made the lyrics difficult for some people (record companies) to understand. It was also a popular way of not getting cancelled back in the day.
People can debate where this song stands in rock history but that
guitar solo (two guitars!) is legendary! I have always loved Joe Walsh’s
sound. He added a lot to a band that was already awesome. 🎶🎸
I agree! They were great but to me they were starting to have a country sound. Joe was just what they needed to stay a rock band. I wish I'd been old enough to see them on this tour.
The song is about the transition from innocence to experience.
Won the Grammy for Record of the Year in 1978. Love the entire album.
The eerie music mirrors the lyrics perfectly. The song is a metaphor for fame and fortune isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be…excess, addiction, etc…it could be heaven or hell, like what happened to Elvis. He could never get away from it and he couldn’t deal.
Exactly.
The song is about the excesses of the 1970's, which was most evident in Los Angeles at the time (because that was the "center of the rock earth" at the time ... Another song you should check out along the same lines is a tune by David and David, called, "Welcome to the Boomtown"
My favorite thing about reaction videos from all over the world is it just shows you how incredibly universal music can be. Timeless tune. Great reaction.
This is my favorite song ever written, I remember my dad playing this album over and over when I was a kid. Was about 6 when I think I heard it for first time and it gave me goosebumps. The song is about California as a whole, back it the 70s alot of people where going their to find the American Dream. It was basically like a hotel, people from all over the states would go there for the Hollywood live, the money, fame and drugs. And you gotta remember Don Henley and Glenn Fry were from small rural towns ( Don actually being a farmer boy from Texas), so this song is about them experiencing California for the first time and learning how dark America can really be, the dark under belly of the American dream, the greed, money, drugs, corruption, etc. The Hollywood life, it sucks you in, but it's almost impossible to escape, hence the quote "you can check-out anytime you like, but you can never leave".
If you want to listen to a live version, check out the live version from the "Hell Freezes Over" tour. Really different to the original, acoustic vibe
The drummer is killing it, and he’s also singing lead on this song
It's an allegorical song about the 'high life' in Los Angeles.
i was always under the impression that it was about a old hippy commune/cult camp, that don henley once visited with a old girlfriend he had, where she came from and who went out trying to get new recuits.
@@ghostedwight I have to go with what I've read, it's about living in LA.
@@itsallgood4093 I agree - that's how I've always seen the meaning - California the metaphorical hotel.
Yep. 'Prisoners of our own device ' and 'Just can't kill the beast', says it all.
The BIG 5 OF ALL TIME: 1. Bohemian Rapsody. 2. Stairway to Heaven. 3. Hotel California. 4. Sultans of Swing. 5. Unchained Melody. Anyone of these songs will be the best ever written.
It is about the journey to California to hit the big time in music. And they find out that it isn’t quite as they imagined.
💯.
The guitar 'harmony' gets me everytime! I Love it! We played this album everyday in my 6th grade class! 🤣 😁💖
They won record of the hear at the Grammys for this song.
If i've got a long drive ahead on a hot sunny day, the Eagles will always be my choice of passengers🌞🚗✌👌
In a interview with Don Henley and Glen Frye the two said that the song was inspired by a old TV show called Twilight Zone. They wanted to give a mystic feeling to the song. The line about 'stab it with their steely knives but they just cant kill the beast." is a homage to another group that they are friends with, Steely Dan. All of the music was written by one of the guitar players, Don Felder who even wrote the guitar solos. Glen and Don henley wrote the lyrics together.
This interview is available on UA-cam here.
That guitar duet is an awesome thing to see live - Don Felder and Joe Wash standing face to face playing their parts. Best part of the song by far.
My mom only let me hear country western music when I was very young. When I was six, I went to my friends house, and his older sister had this on the living room record player, I though it was magic. I was in love with rock from then on.
I had this album when it first came out. That’s the drummer singing.🧡
saw them on the Hotel California tour in 1977 @ Norfolk Scope. Ticket to see them was $8 !! This was General Admission price. Still have ticket stub!
I saw Led Zeppelin at Wembley North London in 1975 for 75 PENCE or ONE DOLLAR......[ink Floyd play Dark Side Of The Moon at Earls Court West London for £1 or $1.34 and on two successive weeks Creedence Clearwater Revival and Deep Purple at the World famous Royal Albert Hall in West London for 25 PENCE or 34 CENTS EACH.
So FOUR World-Class Bands for a total cost of £2.25 or $ 2.76...
YOU WERE ROBBED.....LOL
20 years later, tickets were $100.
Hotel California was a state mental hospital in Camarillo California that had a rehabilitation program for drug and alcohol addiction.. Many famous actors and musicians spent time there..
Success always looks good when you're chasing it. When you reach it few can really handle it. We become prisoners of our own device. Money doesn't make you better. It only magnifies who you are. Living the rockstar life always looks great until you can't escape!
It is worth watching the live version of this song at Capitol Center 1977. You can see Don Felder & Joe Walsh tear up that solo. You are spot on with the meaning of the song being about the high life of California and how easy it is to fall victim to the hedonism of the time.
Wonderful. My favorite 💋Eagles song.
🖤🖤🖤🤎🤎🤎
Don Henley says it is funny how a song about a drunken drive through the desert song, has turned into so many twisted and dark meaning to so many people. Some of the lyrics are just for effect.
A friendly demurral:
"She lit up a candle/And she showed me the way"?
"The stab it with their steely knives/But they just can't kill the beast"?
To me this bespeaks heroin, you could substitute another dope du jour. Also, and not for nothing, the people who wrote the song, or indeed those who produce any work of art, do not necessarily own a definitive interpretation of it. But I am an unreconstructed modernist! ;-)
@@singvogel7895 There were a lot of hedonistic clubs in the seventies where this could have literally meant they were having a ritual of some sort. But probably, Henley wrote this during dinner and it was just a cool spin on the words. Something a teen might say with utensil in their hands.
@@singvogel7895 "You can check out any time you like" also seems like a drug reference.
@@karolyn8644 Specifically for OD or suicide, euphemism for death, I agree.
Colitas = slang for marijuana
(History of the Eagles) -The song writers of Hotel California: Don Henley stated: " It is a song about a journey from innocents' to experience, that's all." Glen Frye co-writer stated that they both enjoyed writing "Hidden Meanings" in their songs - something personal / private that no-one will ever figure out. He further implied that some songs have these personal "Easter Eggs" but not all of them. That's how they responded to the question what is Hotel California about - what is the meaning?
This song and Life in the Fast Lane pretty much sums up the scene in the seventies. The "live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse" mentality, fueled mainly by copious amounts of cocaine, etc. was fun while it lasted, but left one empty and wrecked. I honestly didn't think I'd live past 30, but here I am, 65 years old, enjoying the music of my youth with a whole new generation. Makes my heart happy.
Hey Guys! Good news !!! The Eagles reaction video that was blocked before now is available for y'all. Also, don't forget to check us on Patreon. We post full album reactions and some live performances of your favorite bands there regularly. Peace!
One of the best songs from one of the best records of the late 70’s and an iconic bit of guitar work. Love it.
Some of us old timers from Detroit remember 12 string guitarist and co-lyric writer Glenn Frey from way back, when he was a 19 year old kid. In 1968, he played acoustic guitar and sang backup on his friend Bob Seger's single, "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man". Humble beginnings for both musicians.
The band says its about fame and Hollywood but any interpretation can fit. Iconic song everyone wishes they had written.
Great reaction to a great song! You get a preview of the storyline --- "something dangerous/deadly up ahead" -- 13 seconds into the song with the foreboding rattle, which, for us who live in the California desert, instantly suggests a rattlesnake.
Want to hear a mind blowing debut 1976 album "Boston"
MORE THAN A FEELING Blew me away at first listen when i was 16 Still does🤘🤘🤘🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺👍👍👍
I have a personal Joe Walsh story...
Back in 2012 I was running a small Italian restaurant in NYCs Hells Kitchen neighborhood. Joe Walsh walks in with his wife and an old couple, was either his or his wife's parents. My maitre'd is about 23 yrs old, doesn't recognize him. Seats Joe and his guests at a terrible table by the entrance to the bathrooms. I got to her, ask if she knows she just sat a VIP at a terrible table. She doesn't know who he is, so I cant blame her. I went to the table, and whispered to him that I'd have a corner table in a few moments. But he was super humble! He didn't care at all about the "bad" table. Said he and his family were fine. So later in the night i was back in the kitchen chilling with the chef, when the maitre'd came in and said "that guy on table 43 (Joe's table) is outside and he wants to talk to you." So I rush out. And Joe Walsh tells me he just wanted to tell me he really appreciated that i was looking out for him. We chatted for a while about music and some Eagles stories. A real special moment. One of my favorite celebrity meetings. In NYC I've met so many celebs, from J.Lo to Meryl Streep to Michelle Obama to Daniel Day Lewis and even to Yoko Ono...but Joe Walsh was definitely one of the most memorable because he was such a good guy. I'll never forget meeting him.
The world was blessed when Joe Walsh survived Keith Moon. 💕
“The Last Resort” is amazing. It does not get enough credit but it’s the last track on the Hotel California album.
i know!! it’s definitely one of the best eagles songs!
BEATIFULL SONG
Don Henley said in a interview about what the song is about. He said he still doesn't know what it's about. He said that while they were working on this album guitarist Don Felder was just playing around then he started playing the intro to this song. Don tells him "wait a minute, play that again" Don couldn't really remember all of the cords but they had everything recorded. He played it back and then while listening he said out loud "I see a hotel" And he wrote the entire song based on the intro.
There are a whole lot of bands and rock music from the late 60's to the mid 80's. Only about 10 bands can truly be called top tier, the Eagles are definitely one of them.
Theres something about the guitar in this song. It's like an extension of the lyrics. It's not just mindless riffing to pull off a crazy solo. Every single note should be there, has to be there. It keeps telling the story.
Thanks for the cool reviews Bros. The guitar melody is played on a 12 string electric with a Capo on about the 8th fret so the awesome sound.
No doubt one of the greatest songs of all time & as for the meaning from the first listen I took it that they had died & gone to Heaven or,...............
My favorite groups: Zeppelin, the Beatles, the Eagles, Traffic, SRV & Double Trouble, Jethro Tull, CSN! 😎👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
The drummer is the lead singer😂😂how awesome is that
THE GREAT JOE WALSH JOINED THE EAGLES WITH HIS AWESOME GUITAR. MORE 70'S MAGIC. THEY HAVE MANY SONGS. ONE OF FAVORITES "WITCHIE WOMAN" SOME OTHER GREAT JOE WALSH WHEN HE WAS WITH THE JAMES GANG, "FUNK 49".. "WALK AWAY", "THE BOMBER"... SOLO SONGS "ROCKY MOUNTAIN WAY", "THE CONFESSOR", "LIFE'S BEEN GOOD SO FAR", "IN THE CITY"..
The Hotel California - T H C Every line is metaphor.
My favourite band, seen them in concert live, just pure class. This record I know inside out after playing it so many times. Listen to the acoustic version on 'hell freezes over' album. Never studied the lyrics but after this reaction I think I will. 👍👍
This song is a masterpiece regardless of how you look at it. Seeing them do it live is a total out of body experience. Congrats for slipping it in under the radar. They usually get blocked.
Colitas is the warning, (Mary Jane), stab it with their steely knives (heroin), this song is beautifully DARK!!!
On the 3 hour documentary on the Eagles, Glen Frey talks about the meaning behind 'Hotel California'. I find it the most satisfying of all the hypotheses and pontificating about 'The True Meaning' all over the internet. Frey indicated that the song was about the loss of 'innocence'. The lines 'You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave!' and 'I was running for the door. I had to find a passage back to the place I was before.' Points out that once you have had sex and experienced adult life, no matter how hard you try or want to go back to the 'innocence'... You can't. The rest is narration of before, after and the journey from - to. Some have pointed to the decadence of the 70's and how shallow people in the culture had become, but I maintain that every line fits with the 'innocence lost' journey and realization fits perfectly. One might argue that there are vague references to drugs, hallucinatory experiences, occult imagery and the trappings of wealth and/or success. But, think back to how you 'were before' and how you are after... and I think you'll agree. Listen again (and again) with this in mind. :)
Love the bass line so much!
Seen them 3 times always exiting
Technically, the guitar bit at the end would be called a duet, rather than a solo. And it’s probably the most recognizable duet in rock music.
As for the song’s meaning, Don Henley says it’s, “about a journey from innocence to experience.” I like that he leaves some room for interpretation of the song. Though there have been some pretty wild interpretations of the song over the years. Lol
harmony guitar solo
I enjoy watching you guys...... Thanks
Saw them in Edmonton AB in June 1972. The Eagles led off for Jethro Tull. I was in row 1!
One of the best tracks ever
Yeah, he doesn't know when he enters if it will be heaven or hell. He's confused, but lured in.
My songs that I write may mean one thing in the beginning but they can and do take on many other shapes as time passes. And that is the Beauty of music.
Absolutely. Don’t you think music might have layers of meaning even the writer isn’t consciously aware of. Plus there are all the meanings individual listeners bring to a song. It’s a lovely thing.
According to The Eagles...the song is a "journey from innocence to experience"!!! Makes total sense to me!!!! Favorite song of my lifetime and I'm 68....so you know I've had lots to choose from!!!!🎵🎼🎶💜💜💜💜 Find a live version just to watch!!!!😊😊😊😊
The line that goes "we haven't had that spirit here since 1969" I've always taken as a reference to the Manson family murders. The end of the peace and love of the 60s cultural scene. Hotel California seems to me to be about the emptiness of modern celebrity and the trappings of fame for fame's sake.
Another great band. I first heard this song when I was 7, I'm now 50. Welcome to great music. You have so many more great bands and songs to discover.
And just as brilliant live as they are in the studio.
Great song !!!! ☺🎸🎶🏨🌄
YES! YOU got it. Many people believe this song is about a rehab facility. Listen to the song about 5 times. It will come through.
It was said by Henley that this song is about a journey from innocence to experience. There are many interpretations of this song like darkness & light, good & evil, youth & age. I have tickets to see them in Oct 2021 at The Forum in LA. The concert was changed two times this year due to the Covid pandemic. The best version to watch of this song especially if you love acoustic is the live 1994 Hell Freezes Over Concert. Thanks for your reaction.
You're correct the Hell Freezes Over concert has many fantastic live performances.
there are two hotels in california, that fit this song. The first in Beverley Hills, which I believe was the inspiration. The second, along I-5 in Santa Nella, Ca.
"Stab it with their Steely knives," was a reference to Steely Dan, who had mentioned the Eagles in their tune, "Haitian Divorce"
7 Bridges Road by Eagles is incredible and really showcases their harmony.
Another band that used two lead guitars is the Allman Brothers. Dicky Betz and Duane Allman both played lead guitar and they really complimented each other. They also had two drummers playing at the same time.
You should be watching this light because don henley plays the drums in his singing
I ment to say LIVE Don rules
My favorite guitar solo!!! Nothing comes close for me!
The Lyrics are related to the adiction , the drogs world... All the Lyrics are about that ...
Just found your channel, immediately subscribed. Hotel California is a metaphor for the music/movie industry in California.....a story of temptation, greed, sex, addiction....."you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.".....the money and fame keeps you invested once you are in the industry.
Nobody knows what this song is about, but it's awesome and one of the greatest songs ever ...
The great thing about this song is,you can have many opinions as to its meaning,evertime you listen to the lyrics you can have a different interpretation...great song...love your reactions guyz 👍👍👍
The song is about the beginnings of bands and the transition of small venues to bigger stadiums and the cost to get it.
The cost is what the song is about. Not only money, but your soul and your morals and values.
What will you give of yourself to have something you want?
I love this part the double guitar playing between Joecwalsh and the other is so exciting live this song
they are one of the greatest live bands ever. so, if you want to treat yourself, there´s 2 live versions of this song sticking out (for me): live capitol 1977 ... and live mtv 1994. those two are different, because 1977 is big stage and 1994 is acoustic.
Listen and react to "Lynyrd Skynyrd" - Free Bird. And listen to 3 lead guitarists. It's kind of like The stairway to heaven for southern rock. They have many great songs as well. I know every word to every song they've ever put out.
Good call on Skynyrd and showing these Georgia boys( the country, not the state) some classic southern rock. Skynyrd, Allman Bros, Marshall Tucker, 38 Special, etc.
I suggest the live version from Oakland Coliseum. It will knock your socks off!
@@matthewdrake4385 great reply. I know and love all the bands you mentioned. And there's many more like you said.
Skynyrd and Allman is always a good start into southern rock. If they love it, it can be a big rabbit hole.
@@helenwilliams7065 YES INDEED .. Most definitely the Oakland live version .. think it was in '77. Don't react to this one if you don't do this live video version .. SRSLY!!
im in sao paulo.. none of my freinds ever heard this song, but like it now
Listening to songs of my youth.
Best rif EVER in the history of rock music.
There are many stories about this song and it still goes on today about the issue of what this is about.. It never stops.. I could add some things but it probably would be too depressing.
Life is just like this...ur in heaven sometimes in hell,good feeling and bad feelings and memories is all we have...past is past,whats important is that we learn and move on.
This song is like the holy grail for the guitarists..
"..you can check out anytime, but you can never leave.." Sums up the road to fame..
Still having chill.... after 30 years
I absolutely love you guys and your opinions and lyrical interpretations ❤❤❤🙏🙏
There's a live version of 'New Kid in Town' on YT that really highlights the depth of the band's talent pool. Very impressive, especially when you take into account how many went on to produce solo hits.
In an interview with Don Henley, Henley comments on the meaning of the famous song Hotel California, “The song is about this who live in excess and who are never satisfied
Don Henley and/or Glenn Frey said the beginning of the song suggests the opening to an episode of The Twilight Zone TV series, where a guy is driving through the desert and finds a strange hotel. Also, the line "They stab it with their steely knives..." is a message to Steely Dan, who mention The Eagles in their song, "Everything You Did".
It is said that the melody is based on the Jethro Tull song "We used to know.." from the album " Stand up " from 1969...
The Eagles was actually warming up for Jethro Tull on their 1971 US tour.... Ian Anderson has commented this in a positive way in several intervjues...
Midwestern boy's reacting to the vices of the Californian lifestyle at that time and those people caught up in them.
I love the Album's cover "This could be heaven, this could be Hell" , its all subjective❤
I'm enjoying watching you guys discovering all the great music of my youth. :)))
It is about losing your identity, soul and, sometimes, even your mind in the Southern California lifestyle. (if you plenty of money and drugs). Think about it- That is your homework.
It's about the illuminati
"Solo"? They had 3 guitarists... ;) :p :) Fantastic song! Far and away the best song they ever did, easily. :)
The writer of the song, Don Henley says; “It’s about the dark-underbelly of the American Dream, it’s about excess, it’s about narcissism, it’s about the music business.” However, he also mentioned that it has a million interpretations!