I believe that "Hotel California" is a song about drug addiction. The antagonist sets out for a destination in California "smell of colitas, I heard the mission bell", and finds the excitement that they were looking for, most likely a party, but not a party with alcohol as it just makes their "head grew heavy and my sight grew dim". Then, they are offered a marijuana ciggarette "she lit up a candle and she showed me the way". this "way" is an introduction into the world of drugs. Then the party goers describe California as a great place to live filled with beautiful people "Such a lovely place Such a lovely face". They welcome them and tell them that there is "Plenty of room" for the antagonist if they would like to join them in partaking in drugs as, "Any time of year You can find it here"". They then describe how they are surrounded by not the poor and homeless drug addicts but, wealthy and good looking people "Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes-Benz, pretty, pretty boys". As the song reaches the lyrical mid-point there is a teetering decription between good times and bad times, "Some dance to remember, some dance to forget". This is when they begin to worry about hard drug addiction and try to go back to the safety of alcohol and marijuana, ""Please bring me my wine" He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969"". it is at that moment that they realize that they are addicted and can't quit without withdrawals, "Wake you up in the middle of the night". The chorus or, other addicts, then tell the antagonist not to be suprised that they are now an addict and that their excusses won't help them, "What a nice surprise Bring your alibis". Then a woman, possibly the same woman that offered the joint in the beginning admits that addiction was never forced onto them, ""We are all just prisoners here of our own device"". Again the protagonist finds themselves in the master bedroom, away from the non-addicts of hard drugs like heroine, The addicts begin to shoot-up with needles, not helping them out of their addiction, "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". They finally find themselves desperatly trying to give up the drugs and become sober again, "I had to find the passage back to the place I was before". Their fellow addicts try to calm them down by telling them that it's not their fault, ""Relax, " said the night man, "We are programmed to receive"". The last line is a warning to the listeners as they explain to the person that once an addict, you will always be an addict untill you die, "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave"". That is why I believe that the song Hotel California is about drug addiction.
I wonder why people think that addiction to alcohol is less damaging than addiction to drugs. Perhaps, because addiction to drugs happens so much faster, but addiction to alcohol happens more slowly and is probably harder to recover from - because the consumption of it is so socially acceptable.
Wow bro. Your articulation of the way you interpret the lyrics was...damm impressive. I was right there w you, and I must say, your "version" of the meanings was, by far, the one I could buy into & agree with the most. Cudos kind sir. Thank you for sharing that Astonishing insight 😊
Very true. And the line about bringing him his wine, was about reaching out for the comfort of his religion, only to be laughed at and mocked, by the decadent evil, that controls Hollywood...
Good point. The central theme of the song, whether you take it to be cultural commentary or just fanciful, is the theme of decadence and decay. One clearly gets the feeling of the sinfulness that underpins the lives of the characters. I believe that, among other things, Hotel California is a searing criticism of the California lifestyle and world view, which is strange because the Eagles themselves decided to live and reside in the state. Doesn't say much for the choices the Eagles themselves made...seems it was they who "could never leave".
@@mysticone1798 Absolutely! The song basically takes the uninitiated, through the indoctrination process of the Hollywood elite. I assume, that the powers that were in charge back then, thought nobody would connect the dots...
True story! Its the trauma breaking or wanting to forget as music and dance can move you away from the pain of being caught and captivated by false bearers of light...
It’s dark to be sure. How about these lines from Black Sabbath? Day of judgement, God is calling On their knees, the war pigs crawling Begging mercy for their sins Satan laughing, spreads his wings Oh lord, yeah!
Actually, maybe those Sabbath lyrics I quoted aren’t that dark. It’s hard to imagine anyone is going to be held accountable for war crimes these days, even in the afterlife.
@@s.williamc. Everything is Recorded By GOD. Our words, Our deeds, Our Actions, Everyong will be helded accountable. Repent while your still alive !! GOD Cares about About your Soul , GOD wants you to be in Heaven with Him !!
Having struggled with alcohol for most of my adult life and now having been ìn recovery for that last ten years, I've always associated these lyrics with addiction. Because as I stabbed it my skeely knives I couldn't kill the beast and even though I've "checked out" I can never leave, as in once and Alcoholic always an Alcoholic. I'm blessed now to be a sober Alcoholic.
This song has an unreliable narrator, he lied when he said there was no wine, they had pink champagne. Oddly enough, champagne is actually a type of wine. What else was he lying about?
I try not to over think it. I think it accomplished exactly what it was written for. Haunting interpretations. Musically and lyrically. Beautifully put together!
Agreed. Best not to read too much into it. I just sit back and let it play, imagining I'm the one playing that guitar solo in front of a crowd of about 20,000. Works for me.
You confirmed to the letter, what was said by an insider, many years ago. In the early days of UA-cam, before the commercials and ads, there was this video about a man who was a Hollywood insider, blowing the lid on what goes on beneath the layer. It was difficult to nail down that video as it kept being deleted and then reappear again. Anyways, he briefly touched on "Hotel California" stating the Eagles all but spelled it in plain English what was going on in Hollywood, but the metaphors were vague enough as to not upset the powers that be, in the industry. This video here, is spot on to what that man was saying. He was trying to warn everybody that things are not what they seem in Hollywood.
Don Henley is a nice guy I worked with him promoting his 3 solo album "heart of the matter" - when I was in Radio - I told him how that song ripped my heart out and analyzed the pain of the past. - (forgiveness) - We gotta to know each other , I also grew up in Texas and started music on the trombone just like he did, he switched to drums, I switched to guitar, we went to the same college, Stephen F. Austin, of course he was 20 years ahead of me.... ANYWAY - your analyzation of Hotel Cal. was very insightful especially going through all the 5 senses, yet I think you left out the RESPONSIBILITY of being entangled and enticed by the light, when we are at our weakness, so- HE brought himself into the hell or quandary he was in. "if you want to see your true enemy, look in the mirror" - AND as a surprise, Don sent me a Gold Album "heart of the matter" he Autographed, so now the weary traveler is part of the Beast........I quit Radio, after serving the Beast, gave my life to Jesus Christ, because our bodys are temporary, but our spirits live forever. Now I help the poor, homeless, and lost - that just cant seem to get out of the Hotel. With Jesus, I show them the way out.
Wow God bless you I live in Ne Texas honey grove. I would love to meet you and share the truth of Gods word over coffee. 64 And active rebuild hemi engines.
Good for you, rock and roll music is addictive, and from Satan, many rock stars have admitted this in interviews. They know who the master is in this song, it's Satan, whom they serve with their demonically inspired lyrics and music arrangements.
I worked at a mental facility in Camarillo, CA that was home to not only mental patients but to drug addiction, alcohol, physical abuse, rapist, etc..ages from young to old. I was told by a former employee that Eagles Band member was there for drug/alcohol rehabilitation. It was hush, hush! Everything confidential in this place. At this hospital there is the original mission bell tower that still has that mission bell he sings about There are the corridors he mentions in the song and other patients do yell out. You can’t just walk out and leave this facility, but you can walk the grounds. All in the song authentically depicts Camarillo State Hospital which has been there for years! It’s now been Converted to a university. But you can still feel the spirit of the hospital. Many other famous people stayed or entered themselves here. I recommend visiting the grounds if you like history. All the original buildings still there. It was its own city. You never needed to leave.
This comment hits home for me, my mother was a patient there in the early and mid 60s and I remember going and visiting her there and the place really gave me the creeps as a young child.
Our company did the plumbing on the new buildings and houses there when they converted it to a university. At first, some of us wanted to work Saturdays because there was union scale wages so, lots of money. But the first Saturday, the workers heard screams and moans coming from the old unoccupied buildings. Needless to say, we went back to working weekdays when there were lots of people there.
A band that I was briefly in played there. The patients were dancing. Some wearing helmets and some kept dancing after we finished playing a song. I saw a guy trying to not be seen. After the show, I sat at the front of the stage and let them strum my guitar that was still on. One patient asked if I had a mommy. They seemed like sweet people.
😮😮😮❤😢😢😢❤😊😊😊@dca7773 Thirty One Years Ago, My CSU dorm friend told me this Eagles inpatient rehab story, as we drove by, in my brand 🆕 teal Chevrolet Cavalier sedan, 🚗 about the vacant Camarillo State hospital,🏥 now known as CSUChannel Islands. I believe.(?) It was such a beautiful building site; I love all the 21 CA missions & the Kings 👑 Highway 🛣️ 🔔 El Camino Real sign posts, & I enjoy the various CA Missions' Roman Catholic Masses held in person and streamed online, although I respect that many Native Americans hold very different feelings towards the CA Missions, CA 👑 Kings Highway 🛣️ Mission 🔔 Bells, & San Junipero Serra statues. As a native Californian, the imagery of this song resonates with my entire lifetime and family history.✨🕯️✨🕊️
My grandpa was Bob Estrada. We'll x in-law. He was the barber. I was in the California Conservation Corp. So, I learned some things there as well. It was there on the property. This was in 1996. They just about were shut down completely.
The line 'She got the Mercedes-Benz' is actually a play on words Mercedes 'bends' which is a 70s California term used to describe someone who has the sickness of materialism. The Bends being a sickness divers get from surfacing too fast, but in this case when used with the name of an expensive car it becomes a term for a different kind of sickness. Goes right along with the 'Tiffany Twisted' line right before it. The song in general is just about the hedonistic, decadent, materialistic, drug fueled party lifestyle the band encountered in LA after they moved west and the inherent addictiveness of that. They moved to California for the love hippy ideal but in the 70s they found it to be something different. Founding member Bernie Leadon was previously in another band The Flying Burrito Brothers who had an album 'The Gilded Palace of Sin' which explored similar themes.
After all these stories about billioners islands, girls and kids(!) traffic, with all kinds of celebrities visiting them, and about celebrities "dark parties" revealing all the disgusting things people can ever do... the song opens up differently! Thank you for the video!
You said "girls and kids(!) traffic . . . "dark parties" revealing all the disgusting things people can ever do... the song opens up differently". Here's some truths along those lines. A Ranch In California (please read the description first) - ua-cam.com/video/ZSwBewgT7eE/v-deo.html
Well thats an interesting point. This was the Free Love and "peace" generation. On the other side of the country was the Studio 54 partygoers - drugs, women, sex, etc. So yeah I think dark parties fit, according to the generation that was opposing different movements and decided a different lifestyle would take them away from a real life...a getaway, of you would..
When this was released in 1977, I was a Huntington Beach Police officer assigned to the jail. The downtown H.B. druggies/alcoholics would refer to the jail as the " Hotel California". They would form an impromptu choir in the Detox cells to sing: " Welcome to the Hotel California, you can check out, but you can never leave."
I was a kid in 80s we lived in Fountain Valley. Had friends in H.B. Taylor Avenue. Still remember address n phone number. Was awesome to live n be there. I'd love to move back. Tired of winter here in Alaska.
There is a Hotel California in Baja, Mexico, as you travel down south through the Baja Peninsula to get to Cabo San Lucas. It is a very old and unique Hotel, I was told that was the actual hotel the Eagles were referring about in the Song. They told us there's gosths and that the Eagles once stayed at the place. To this day, the Hotel continues to receive thousands of visitors who think that is "The hotel where you can check in and out, but you can never leave"
Great analysis! My whole life, I was born in 72, I have always viewed this song as super creepy, yet melodically captivating. It has some very dark undertones. Its a musical masterpiece for sure!
Lucifer is the Angel of music. He's also easy on the eyes! Deceiving, trickery, alluring, captivating, Hypnotic! His best traits! Stay aware, and guarded! Its real out there...hold tight to the most valuable possession on earth, your own Soul!!!! Dont let go! God Bless Us All! 🙏 Amen
In 2002 I was working in San Diego and my wife came to visit we went to Mexico. A Resort in Rosarito was suggested it was a $4 bus ride from Tiajuana. It was a bus trip on a dark desert highway no street lights very dark. You could smell open sewers that have another name "Colitas". Then there was a shimmering light as we got to the Resort. There is the old misson hotel with a court yard from the late 60s early 70s The room keys had the name on them and doubled as bottle openers. The name of the hotel? The Hotel California in Baja California. It was a run down place with bullet holes in the walls. Not the 4 star resort we stayed at but we had to check it out. I still have the bottle opener with address and phone number on it. The logo is the exact Hotel California logo and the sign in front was decades old. Coincidence?? Who knows but the trip there was the whole first verse.
Beautiful song! Now an old lady of 86, I never tire of hearing this. So meaningful - & memories of youthful, dark, endless highways to new adventures. Sigh...
The song became the unofficial song of the ship I was stationed on in that time frame. The USS California was a nuclear powered guided missile cruiser at that time home ported out of Norfolk, Virginia. What was wonderful about the song was that you could understand every word sung and the accompanying music didn't drown everything out like most music that came afterwords. The theme fit perfectly to the crew who all felt trapped in a peace time navy on a ship with no purpose other than to show the flag. I got out of the navy in 1978 with the last words of the song stuck in my head for a long time.
Thanks for the story. Your comment on trapped in a peaces time navy, triggered a thought of my dad and 2 uncles. Dad and one were in the Korean War, that uncle was severely wounded and should've never walked again. The other uncle was a Huey pilot for 3 tours of Vietnam, he was wounded on the 2nd but not bad enough to discharge. He was one of the 229th Aviation Btl who volunteered to repeated go back/forth to LZ X-Ray and other horrible spots in Ia Drang Valley in Nov 1965. All 3 checked out of their various combat zones/countries. But I guarantee their minds never left those countries. My dad talked about the army and his experiences almost until his death at 88 years old. Stabbing at the beast with their steely knives but can't kill the beast, sounds like a metaphore for why they were sent to these places to fight as in stop the Marxist beast from spreading. FWIW--Karl Marx was a Satan worshiper so the "beast" fits right in.
@@LuvBorderCollies The song rang so many bells in that time frame. Thank you for your story and your relatives service. I have known many of those who served in the war zones and hold all of them with the highest respect.
Welcome to US Military Psy Ops….. Our Brigade song was “Running With The Devil. Devil Brigade 82nd Airborne Division. “The Devils in Baggy Pants.” The misconception about Psy Ops is that it’s something that is hidden. But it’s the opposite. It is what you see and hear in your face every day.
Everytime I've listened to the song, it gives me a feel of the character in the song who eventually finds himself stuck in some kind of Purgatory. No matter how many explanations contradicting this they give, it is what I perceive. Truly, one of the best songs all time.
The 70s were a magical time to grow up as a teenager… I can’t even begin to describe all the memories this song brings back. I guess that’s why I learned to play and sing it… it still impacts me the same way… to this day…
Your explanation is exactly what I always thought these lyrics were about (at least to me). I often found myself in similar, weird circumstances in the 70’s where I did not understand (naïve) what was going on around me - drugs- cultish behaviors, and I wanted to flee-for the door before I was forever trapped. More than one of my friends did not escape that time! Great lyrics to an eternal song!
I was 'trapped in CA' for over 20 years, and was addicted to many drugs and cults, good & bad... And found 'My Way' out by moving to Hawaii, and embracing the 'Aloha Way'...!!
When I got out of the Navy at Miramar NAS in 1979 I went to LA and worked at The Whiskey. I was walking down Sunset and saw a poster for bartenders. Applied and worked there for 2 years. The stories I have that I'll never tell. At 65 , it was the best 2 years of my life. Thanks Brian
My brother was plane captain on F-4 at Miramar an on Enterprise aircraft carrier at sea. I visited brother on base. He let me sit in F-4 cockpit. I witnessed jet crash an parachute. Brother told me of him being ordered I to burning hanger. My fishing friend joined military to fly. He became jet pilot then a test pilot. He was picked to fly space shuttle but new wife said no! He flew from Portland to Miramar to participate in top gun. I saw him in Harley shop,where he asked me what I was doing over the weekend? We're going sailboating on Timothy Lake. While we're on lake, we hear rumbling noise. Then see 4 jets at tree level. Jet lower still over water they are making rooster tails from water. As the pass by our sailboat I see my friend solute me an wave his wings. They split around Mt Hood returning to Portland. Everyone on water an on shore now screaming with delight! I know a real top gun!
@@timbarnett3898yea,yea,yea, an my prick is a bloater. I nipped up Mt Everest naked the other day, got to the summit made a cup of tea and got home All within a day. 🙃
My all-time favourite line in that song has always been "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave". My interpretation of that was, and still is, a suspicion that it may relate to drug use. At 73, I still love to play that song at fairly high volume, as it unfailingly sends that thrill of sound and rhythm of guitars right through me. The best.😊
😂me too... Great Writing I can't begin to imagine how many others have been captivated for this long each time you hear it...the mind just soars away...
I have liked the Eagles for years! I am a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and "Hotel California' was one of the first songs I heard that really 'grabbed" me. AND since I was born and raised literally in Los Angeles, I got an idea of what the song was about almost immediately! And to be blunt, your analysis is right on, to use a phrase from that era!
It always spoke to me about the end of life. Which has been a recurring theme throughout my life. The line that stood out for me is “You can check out any time you like but you can never leave.” That’s why I love art in all its forms. Good art can appeal to different people in a multitude of ways.
The satanic church and anton levay believed in do what thou will indulgence, whether it be sex drugs, anything , once you go down this path you can never really leave also the first satanic church started in 1969
Excellent analysis of what I consider one of the greatest bits of song writing...at least in my lifetime. And I'm 74. Total fan of the Eagles. Absolute masters of their talent.
I've lived in California all my life - with occasional excursions outside the state. The meaning was immediately clear to me - no need to make things more complicated than they need to be.
Agree. I don't live in Cali, have been to LA a few times, no offense but NEVER enjoy LA. But since I was a kid I kind of understood what they were getting at. I think you're right, people are overthinking things.
I'm naturally been a fan of the Eagles as so so many are, and I'm a solo musician too and I've played and sung this song literally 1000's of times. One of my greatest joys was achieving to ay that solo at the end after performing the song. Wow, the people who hear it, love it. I play other artist's songs for one single reason, and that is to compliment and give all the credit to those who created it. What I do is try to reproduce the song in the same are on any album it was heard. I take great joy playing and singing and I like to play challenging peices because I see the awesome beauty in their creation. As for solo's I would say Hotel California is the second best solo compared to David Gilmour's and Pink Floyd's Comfortable Numb. As a musician that's my opinion but not everyone will agree right. Either way, both are masterpieces! Thanks for this review, it's Awesome 😁👍!
Hotel California is a true masterpiece. There are so many levels to it one never tires of listening to the song, always finding new meaning. I think it's the best rock song of the 20th century.
I've always loved the song, when I was in boot camp at Parris Island I became pals with a hard core punk kid and this was the one song we both knew all the words to and we'd sing it when cleaning the "pissers" in the head. Years later I moved to LA, did some acting, worked in the film business, went to the parties, lived the life for ten years or so.... Had a friend that lived in the building where that famous photo of the hotel lobby with the balcony exists .... I walked away from all that but am still here in LA 32 years later - At 57, having lived a wild life and having seen the underbelly and choosing to walk into the light, now reflecting on it all, stumbling upon this video is somewhat cathartic
When I first heard the song I thought its about a guy who was driving all night (maybe high on drugs with the warm smell of colitas) tired and sleepy, eyes grew dim then suddenly saw a shimmering light. Guy thought it was a hotel as suddenly he was being welcomed (but the truth was the shimmering light came from an oncoming vehicle that he collided with) & not knowing he was dead & that the hotel was like some place where lost souls go through & he got to meet & hear about the lives/past of the other souls there. The guy, not knowing he was dead, was looking for a way to get back outside & drive away but was told that he can check out anytime but can never leave or go back again since he is no longer of the living 😅
In the first half minute of this video. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for calling this band, "Eagles" I hate to see places (like 60 minutes even!) address them as "The Eagles" that is NOT THE BAND'S name and I appreciate (and am subscribing) because you take the time to do it right!
I thoroughly enjoyed this interpretation of the Eagles' lyrics for Hotel California. I had my own interpretation about what the song was about, but this is heavy duty and makes you think how ingenious Don Henley is as a songwriter.
Who knows what these young guys were thinking about during the 70's... their music, this song puts me in a feel-good mood that I just sends me. A classic that stays on repeat in my playlist.
Maybe. What you describe fits with many Eagles songs. Not this one, for me it is different. I remember vividly my first hearing and it affected me in a way that non of their other songs have. I was not an addict. It just gets under the skin. The steely knives are probably syringes as this You Tuber alludes to.
There are obviously different ideas growing out a specific feel of life, written down under the influence of substances. Some changes surely were made to fit rhyme and rythm. At the end not even the artists can tell what exactly the lyrics mean. It means a lot to a lot of people. And therefore its art. And that is all there is.
Great job on putting this video together. Everyone has their own ideas and interpretations. Don Henley spent time in a juvenile detention center called Fred C. Nelles, located in Whittier, California, which served as the inspiration for the song. The lyrics reflect his experiences and emotions during that period of his life. For instance, the line 'Welcome to the "Hotel California"' can be interpreted as a metaphor for the detention center, with 'You can check in anytime, but you can never leave' echoing the feeling of being trapped. It's worth noting that during the 70s, juvenile records often remained clean.
It's an allegory. You're trapped at a concert hall having paid $595 for your ticket and realize Don Henley is lip syncing badly to a prerecorded vocal track, but you can never leave.
.. 1977 .. I was living in Atlanta, working for SouthernBell Telephone...I purchased Hotel California at Peaches Records & Tapes in Buckhead, I have and still listen to that album to this day, but only on the anniversary of it's release. Yeah, I'm weird, that's what my wife tells me..." _I'm 75 my music keeps me young and alive, we still dance to the beat of the music in the streets_ " 😛
I haven’t heard southern bell in a long time. I grew up in Cobb county. Did you ever raft the chattahooche during the raft race? I was only 5 in 77. But I remember it and my parents going. I think my mom cut her foot real bad from the broken beer bottles
@@johncamp7679 🤣been down the Hooche many times in different states of inebriation while listening to Gary McKee on WQXI radio, wayyy back in the day 😛 looking back on those days, we were total mindless idiots in a ginormous party 😎 My wife & I...54 years now, do reminisce and have a good laugh. When our two daughters were old enough, we taught them how to have fun on the Hooche !! We enjoy it to this day with our grands !!
@@ltdees2362 Gary McKee!! Dude, brings back so many memories of when Atlanta radio was the best. Z93 96 rock Kasey Kasem top 40. I had a great time growing up. My wife and I have been together 30 years.
I lived in Buck-head in the 90s and lived that city so much. The Lenox Mall was my favorite and I love the trees blooming in Spring. I loved Buford Hwy and there was a Red roof Inn on a hill that was so quant and just a beautiful area all over Buck Head. I miss those days. 😢🙏🌼🌼
Thanks for the profound analysis of 1 of my favorite songs of all time. It really jibes with the thoughts I've had about it. Great video! Gonna listen to it RN :)
I have been teaching ESL for more than 20 years. I used the song Hotel California in my classes to teach English. It was one of my most popular and memorable lessons taught at Chiang Mai University. In Thailand, all my Thai college students have heard the song. The parents of my undergraduate students also knew the song. So, when we finished the two class lesson, it was always interesting what the students thought of what did the song mean and they would talk to their parents about it too. I leave you with the Thai culture and perception is unique and interesting, but that would be another story... Thank you for sharing the video and I enjoyed your perspective of the song the Hotel California.
This is my favorite song ever. The haunting melody. The lyrics. That guitar solo. I’ve listened to it 100 times and I get chills every time. For me, it’s always been an allegory for drug addiction, something that I struggled with myself in my younger days. “Some dance to remember, some dance to forget” especially resonates with me
It is about the OCCULT aka *satanism / luciferianism* - which is what you have to join and pledge allegiance to (ie *sell your soul to the DEVIL* = the “god” of this world) - in order to become FAMOUS and PART of the satanic Hellywood / Music Industry! That’s the ONLY accurate interpretation and meaning. So, in every sense, the band member did tell you more and more of the ACTUAL FACTS in his every explanation, respectively! “You can *check out* any time you like, but you can NEVER LEAVE,” means: *You can only leave their satanic secret societies* through PHYSICAL DEATH! 🚨 It is erroneously believed that once you join the Occult/secret societies/service to sATAN, if you attempt to leave it, *_they will kill you._* Which is not untrue, judging by the manner and age of deaths of over 90% of celebrities… So no, the devil doesn’t let you leave so easily! BUT❗️☝️ You can only leave *by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.* But of course, the devil and his minions will never tell you that! They keep you captive by threatening and intimidating you my physical death. Make your choice wisely! ASAP, while you’re still breathing. You may not leave to see tomorrow. ⚠️📛🔥🔥🔥📛⚠️
Same... I'm old as fu*k I have listened to it more than 100 times+ Never bothered to check what the lyrics meant.. This popped up in my feed today. I always assumed it was about going to California/L.A. drug culture/addiction and debauchery. It's not a happy song. I do however enjoy the musicality, vocals and "ambiguity." Be well!
There is no "guitar solo". A solo is played by one performer. At the end of the song, there is a duet between Felder and Walsh. It can't be a solo with two performers.
Frey and Henley had the most amazing vocals, I particularly loved Frey's voice and how he used it in their songs, and also the harmony they all seemed to naturally posses. Amazing band all round, very clever musicians. We don't get bands like this any more for some reason, or I'm just getting old.
Thanks for getting back to me. Thanks again. I really appreciate what you do. I spent 30 years drumming & I was very lyrically oriented & focused a lot on how the lead singer was phrasing to deliver the song..I was very attuned to the melody, harmony lyrics & the arrangement of the song. So, I was more of a reactive player.. figuring out what the lyrics mean & then giving the song what it needed to move people. That's what it was all about for me. I got tons of paid work with my song centric orientation. That process felt great. @Lyristoric
The problem is, no matter what the songwriter or performers INTEND the song to mean, its' true meaning is what it means to each person who listens to it.
when talented people enter la, they go on drugs and their talent flies out the window. Then they tour for 50 years on the three or so hits they wrote before going on the drugs.
They don't even try to wrap things up in literary themes. Now they just say what they literally mean and if it's not contrived and empty, it still lacks imagery or subtlety
Maybe you don’t listen to this genre but metal music contains a lot of this old spirit of writing. One of my favorite bands is Falling in Reverse because the lead singer and songwriter Ronnie Radke is extremely good at telling a story and it doesn’t hurt that I enjoy the fast paced music. I think that maybe the most popular music isn’t so deep anymore but there certainly are bands and artists that create masterpieces still.
Excellent breakdown, thank you. The Eagles are my favorite band and I have always wondered about this song. I now have a new appreciation and understanding.
What a great analisys of a much loved son. I was born in another country, not very familiar with the culture around that song. Great piece of history too. Thank you!
Me too. '73 to '76 changed my life forever. So many songs about California. I had to go. The backwoods ways I grew up with were destroyed immediately. So many great people! Such a different outlook on life! (I am grateful for the technology businesses because I'm an electronics nerd and I never looked for a job for more than 4 hours.) Put a little down and buy a car, and the world is open to you. Those four years are where I go for great memories.
Brilliant, multi-dimensional poetry in lyrics here. The vast possibility of interpretations while not truly giving the author’s explanation offer us a wonderful experience in making this song what it means to us. It is artistry. Bravo
Hotel California, both the song and the album, are my favorites from the Eagles. I was in high school back then. I contend that very few "starlets" bought their own Tiffany jewelry or Mercedes Benzs. They couldn't afford to. They have/had sugar daddy producers, directors, or whoever who buy "favors" from these girls with these "baubles" and promises of making their Hollywood dreams come true; "their minds are Tiffany twisted". (their heads are turned by the money being spent on them) But of course, each party knows that its just a game with a barter system. Rich, older, powerful men using younger girls, always dangling that carrot on a stick just to keep them in their grasp. Young, beautiful girls wanting fame and fortune either naively or knowingly end up letting the older men paw them until they get their break. But the girls don't love these old guys and so they have a "lot of pretty, pretty boys that she calls friends". When the sugar daddy is busy or away, she has her "friends" over. That's my take on Hotel California. Thanks.
A few girls get the full Svengali treatment, but most of the girls are then used in turn to entice young men wanting fame and fortune. The execs throw girls at them, the carrot to get them to sign bad contracts. These guys are so distracted by all the perks that they don't realized they're also being exploited and robbed. The company pays for their cars and drugs etc. But one day they wake up and realize that they don't own anything. There's a reason the Playboy mansion was always full of celebrities.
I saw the Eagles in 1975 at a concert in Bloomington, IN. It was pre Hotel California. the were playing songs like Witchy Woman, Take it to the Limit and etc. . 3 bands played that night. Kansas, The Eagles, and the Headliner was The Beach Boys! Fantastic concert.
In my high school in France during the 80s, we studied it in English class. Once we had translated and learned the words, we wanted to understand more of the meaning of the song. At that point I remember our teacher said it was too dark and we would have to search for it by ourselves. To me it's since always been about a dark ceremony by some kind of sect. After understanding this, I have never been able to hear the nice melody again, much like the lyrics explain there's no coming back from that hotel. I am convinced that for the band, it was a way to let go of all the dodgy stuff they have been made aware of in Hollywood.
I think this is the best explanation of Hotel CA....And I concur that "once you lose your innocence, you can never go back." The song "Gollum's Song" is about this loss, and meant as much to me personally as Hotel CA did in my youth.
I am 68 and my girlfriend and I and my friends all said, that it was about Camarillo State Mental Hospital. So it was good to hear your story, which makes a lot of sense. Ray
I'm 57 now but I was 21 when I first heard or listened to this song for the first time. It is a Godly inspired song to warn men of SIN and Addiction "Hotel California" is "A State Of Mind". I was starting to as they say "smell my self, " feel myself, and couldn't be told anything. Lured away from the Shephard under the cover of darkness like a sheep. The light was the eyes of the wolves, a demon, the beast...drugs, sex, alcohol, porn, "SIN"... Everyone there was inviting and having fun. The mission bells rang in my conscience pretty loud at first but the voices of those pleased and proud of my steps drowned them out Along with my ego....Long story short, Satin don't mind you leaving for a while as long as he still has your heart. This is why we need Jesus. He's the only one who can break the curse and free your heart. I was warned but this song became my story. Now I walk with the Lord.
It Satan the devil having the audacity to tell his followers what is waiting for them for all eternity. Nazareth has a song I Sold y Soul To The Devil. These guys are satanists and dont know what danger they are in.
Well... I understand this a lot better now. I'm 75, and I lived those times. I have come out on the other side a follower of Jesus. He is truly the only key to that "Hotel California."
You can't really understand this song, without living it. Only after edging the darkness but not committing to it, I came to understand it's meaning. All of us are weary travelers at some time of our life and that is when we are most vulnerable to that welcoming hotel in the song
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."
I was working in a hotel by the sea when this song came out. It was too far to get into town during our breaks, so we were isolated. It was run utterly chaotically by the weird foreign management and the chef was a psycho. We had to stay till the end of the season to get paid. We called it Hotel California. We really bonded in that captive summer.
Just played the CD for the first time in a long time! Forgot how great that song, and the whole album was. Played it again and again to get the feeling back of how great their music, and their lyrics are.
I always Loved this song, but I always felt the underlying darkness because of "1969", "The Beast," and " You can check out any time You Like, But You can Never Leave." Great analysis. I understand the song a lot better now.
I think you hit the nail on the head. I was a teenager when The Hotel California first came out. I knew that a lot of songs like this had meaning in the lyrics. Like Don McLeans American Pie.
This reminds me of a conversation I had at lunch in the pediatric office in NJ I was working at in the late 90s. I was in my early 30s and was having lunch with one of my partners while one of the nurses was looking at a guidebook planning an upcoming trip. She mentioned they were considering a hotel called Hotel California. I said I hear they have plenty of room there. The nurse, oblivious to the reference, said yes the rooms look spacious as my partner began to chuckle. I then said I hear they really live it up there and the still oblivious nurse said yeah it looks like a fun place. This went on for several minutes until I finally said yeah I hear you can check out any time you like but you can never leave. By then my partner is laughing so hard she can’t finish her lunch and the nurse finally realizes I’m not talking about the hotel she’s looking at. Most of my jokes are misses but this was a direct hit.
My younger and I stayed at the hotel California in Paris when we got there we realized it was a 5 star hotel we were back packing thru. France same joke the clerk asked me when will you check out I told him I thought you could not check out he laughed my brother was puzzled 😂
You did a great job breaking down the song, It's kinda the way I see it too. Incidentally, the best (non Eagles) version I've ever heard, was on a dinner cruise on the Nile river, played by an Egyptian rock band. It was a kind'a freaky night. They band members were so happy that a real Californian loved their version. Alas, they didn't have their own cassette or CD version for sale, but were extremely complimented that I would offer to buy one. That was my Hotel California mini adventure in Cairo. Life is strange
I heard a young Scandinavian women sing it while strumming a guitar in a Hostel Courtyard in Prague 30 years ago. She was mesmerizing and gorgeous, and I'm still haunted by her version. In My Opinion, Frey's nasal whining destroys the dreamy beauty of this classic, and it's BEST sung by a women, and it's s shame that Linda Ronstadt never covered it, nor any other famous woman.
This is an intelligent, in-depth analysis of the song, one which now, I appreciate more. One thing....the image you included of an LA recording studio is actually in Sausalito, CA (Marin County) and coincidentally, was the place where much of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album. It was called the Record Plant.
Thanks! You are correct. That image was of the former Sausalito studio. Record Plant is now in LA, while that building is 2200 Studios. Oddly, Record Plant actually began NY from what I understand.... and suddenly I'm dizzy! ✌️ 🍻
My English class in my senior year used Hotel California as a creative writing tool. We got to write out what we thought the song meant. It was so fun.
I never new all the words to this song. Focussing on the last parts of the song; (you can check out any time you want, but you can never leave.) to me, it sounded like the Hotel California was a cemetery. This is an incredibly written and thought out song by the writer. So much detail with so few words with so many personal opinions on each meaning.
I distinctly remember watching an interview with Don Henley, some years back, where he talked about the play on words that he did with the Mercedes line. It's "Mercedes BENDS", like a sea diver getting the bends upon surfacing.
I wish I could've come across that. The official lyric sheets have it as "Benz." But "Mercedes 'bends'" makes a lot of sense as a compliment to the previous line's "Tiffany 'twisted'" - bending and twisting. Oh well, that's why we have the comment section! Thanks!
I was reading through the comments to see if anyone else picked up on the Benz / Bends thing. I have a vinyl album with lyrics (not accessible atm) and I'm pretty sure last time I looked it said Bends.
?? Sadly ?? Most likely Not.. our younger generation have No clue of how to understand, conceive, Write and express Any sort of story line that can be developed into meaningful music/Song now a days. Today it's about cus words, violence and computer generated instrument sounds thrown together and labeled and targeted for young kids.
@@chavinho7793 Yeah, but will we ever see the bands write amazing songs that last the test of time like the Eagles?? Yeah the 90s was awesome 00's wasn’t bad. But the 20s has been shithouse. Name one song written this decade that you consider an amazing piece of Music
@unSTEVOED trueeee there just ain't bands anymore rock died rap took over. BUT some rappers have good songs. Like Kendrick Lamar j Cole drake childish Gambino but yeah not many
Great job on breaking down the meaning of the song. My take was that the band was describing each of them as musians finding fortune and fame. Once they become famous they checked in the Hotel. They all are drawn to the chambers to be tempted by there own personal demons women, alcohol and drugs. Now that they have checked in they can check out but they never can really leave.
I've always seen it as Limbo. The protagonist collided with an oncoming vehicle after passing out, and found himself at the Hotel California, with the many other travelers that have met their end on that highway. There's a great movie called "The Circle" that perfectly encapsulates the song, in my opinion.
Fantastic! My favorite is the Hall of Fame. I’d got the general idea of it being a comment on LA in the 70s but that detailed breakdown was really fascinating.
I was driving in a highway in northern China three years ago, and tuned in a radio station that broadcast nothing else but Hotel California. I listened for four hours until I left the area. That was the weirdest driving experience I ever had. Sorry for my bad English😅
I believe The Doors song, "L.A. Woman" is similar. A lot of people think it's about loving LA, I think it's about how Hollywood chews up young women and spits them out in pieces... "Are you a luck little lady in the City of Lights? Or just another lost angel? City of night..." I've met a lot of women who came to LA to "make it big." Most get regular jobs, or worse, and that's depicted in the song too... "Cops in cars, the topless bars, never seen a woman so alone... Motel money murder-madness. Let's change the mood from glad to sadness." Most of the women I met who got spit out by the system, are very alone, and there's a facade of gladness, until after the motel money changes hands. They find a way to justify selling out their dreams, but in the end, they're alone, it's pretty sad.
You are right on the money the Door's had a few other's like that like rider's on the storm about serial killer's hitchhiking to get there next victim they grew up that way into this house we're born into this world we're thrown like a dog without a bone or hackler all alone.....
Thank you! I really enjoyed your description and thoughts about the lyrics. When you described at a party members might gather in a room to shoot up heroin (or maybe that was my interpretation), I thought the steely knives might be the needles. And then the addiction is hard to escape from. You can shoot up (being to check out) but you’ll be back for more
A valid interpretation, I think! Stabbing it with their steely knives (the needles) would assuage the desire for a hit temporarily, but you’d never be able to “kill the beast” (end the cravings for heroin/whatever) that way. As a teen with absolutely no experience of drugs at the time, I just experienced the song as a creepy, dreamlike or hallucinatory experience. Not sure I’d ever seen Twilight Zone at the time, but now that’s what it brings to mind - where any road you try to take out of the place just brings you back to where you started.
I believe that "Hotel California" is a song about drug addiction. The antagonist sets out for a destination in California "smell of colitas, I heard the mission bell", and finds the excitement that they were looking for, most likely a party, but not a party with alcohol as it just makes their "head grew heavy and my sight grew dim". Then, they are offered a marijuana ciggarette "she lit up a candle and she showed me the way". this "way" is an introduction into the world of drugs. Then the party goers describe California as a great place to live filled with beautiful people "Such a lovely place Such a lovely face". They welcome them and tell them that there is "Plenty of room" for the antagonist if they would like to join them in partaking in drugs as, "Any time of year You can find it here"". They then describe how they are surrounded by not the poor and homeless drug addicts but, wealthy and good looking people "Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes-Benz, pretty, pretty boys". As the song reaches the lyrical mid-point there is a teetering decription between good times and bad times, "Some dance to remember, some dance to forget". This is when they begin to worry about hard drug addiction and try to go back to the safety of alcohol and marijuana, ""Please bring me my wine" He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969"". it is at that moment that they realize that they are addicted and can't quit without withdrawals, "Wake you up in the middle of the night". The chorus or, other addicts, then tell the antagonist not to be suprised that they are now an addict and that their excusses won't help them, "What a nice surprise Bring your alibis". Then a woman, possibly the same woman that offered the joint in the beginning admits that addiction was never forced onto them, ""We are all just prisoners here of our own device"". Again the protagonist finds themselves in the master bedroom, away from the non-addicts of hard drugs like heroine, The addicts begin to shoot-up with needles, not helping them out of their addiction, "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". They finally find themselves desperatly trying to give up the drugs and become sober again, "I had to find the passage back to the place I was before". Their fellow addicts try to calm them down by telling them that it's not their fault, ""Relax, " said the night man, "We are programmed to receive"". The last line is a warning to the listeners as they explain to the person that once an addict, you will always be an addict untill you die, "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave"". That is why I believe that the song Hotel California is about drug addiction.
I wonder why people think that addiction to alcohol is less damaging than addiction to drugs. Perhaps, because addiction to drugs happens so much faster, but addiction to alcohol happens more slowly and is probably harder to recover from - because the consumption of it is so socially acceptable.
I see you're POV but (IMO) the "She" in this song is sex. All sex, and all that it brings about, becomes a gilded cage that's hard to leave.
It definitely describes the darkness in Hollywood, no doubt
It's about living the phony lifestyle and phony people in californiia. Mercedes Bends not benz
Wow bro. Your articulation of the way you interpret the lyrics was...damm impressive. I was right there w you, and I must say, your "version" of the meanings was, by far, the one I could buy into & agree with the most. Cudos kind sir. Thank you for sharing that Astonishing insight 😊
The song is a cautionary tale, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world (wealth, fame, success), but forfeits his soul?"
Very true.
And the line about bringing him his wine, was about reaching out for the comfort of his religion, only to be laughed at and mocked, by the decadent evil, that controls Hollywood...
Absolutely true
right a lethal lullaby
Good point. The central theme of the song, whether you take it to be cultural commentary or just fanciful, is the theme of decadence and decay. One clearly gets the feeling of the sinfulness that underpins the lives of the characters. I believe that, among other things, Hotel California is a searing criticism of the California lifestyle and world view, which is strange because the Eagles themselves decided to live and reside in the state.
Doesn't say much for the choices the Eagles themselves made...seems it was they who "could never leave".
@@mysticone1798 Absolutely!
The song basically takes the uninitiated, through the indoctrination process of the Hollywood elite.
I assume, that the powers that were in charge back then, thought nobody would connect the dots...
With what is being exposed about Hollywood these days, this song could be one of the first to reveal the seedy underbelly of that dark infested place.
Agree absolutely
🎉
My first thought too! And like they’re suddenly going to tell the truth now?!?! Yeah right! Why are people still falling for this shit?!?!?!
I came here to say this too. I'm glad others are seeing it too.
Exactly
"Some dance to remember... Some dance to forget"... My fav line
Mine too:)
True story! Its the trauma breaking or wanting to forget as music and dance can move you away from the pain of being caught and captivated by false bearers of light...
👍💃
❤
Hell. “You can check out anytime, but you can never leave.”
The darkest line in classic rock in my opinion.
It’s dark to be sure. How about these lines from Black Sabbath?
Day of judgement, God is calling
On their knees, the war pigs crawling
Begging mercy for their sins
Satan laughing, spreads his wings
Oh lord, yeah!
Actually, maybe those Sabbath lyrics I quoted aren’t that dark. It’s hard to imagine anyone is going to be held accountable for war crimes these days, even in the afterlife.
@@s.williamc. Everything is Recorded By GOD. Our words, Our deeds, Our Actions, Everyong will be helded accountable. Repent while your still alive !! GOD Cares about About your Soul , GOD wants you to be in Heaven with Him !!
alcoholism
I remember that line used to scare the hell out of me.
Having struggled with alcohol for most of my adult life and now having been ìn recovery for that last ten years, I've always associated these lyrics with addiction. Because as I stabbed it my skeely knives I couldn't kill the beast and even though I've "checked out" I can never leave, as in once and Alcoholic always an Alcoholic. I'm blessed now to be a sober Alcoholic.
Nice. Good for you and good luck❤
Awesome job I have two years sober now and am never going back to the way I was
I thought it was steely knives, being some kind of a reference to Steely Dan
GBU and happy for you.
That makes a lot of sense
Knowing what is being revealed of the industry today, this makes perfect sense.
Exactly what I was thinking funny how industry insider have been trying to tell the public the whole time but were we completely oblivious
Welcome to the Machine!
We had a poetry reading of this song in high school. We interpreted as a drug trip.
@@dinakaya7155 Interesting interpretation....
This song has an unreliable narrator, he lied when he said there was no wine, they had pink champagne. Oddly enough, champagne is actually a type of wine.
What else was he lying about?
I try not to over think it. I think it accomplished exactly what it was written for. Haunting interpretations. Musically and lyrically. Beautifully put together!
Agreed.
Best not to read too much into it. I just sit back and let it play, imagining I'm the one playing that guitar solo in front of a crowd of about 20,000.
Works for me.
You confirmed to the letter, what was said by an insider, many years ago. In the early days of UA-cam, before the commercials and ads, there was this video about a man who was a Hollywood insider, blowing the lid on what goes on beneath the layer. It was difficult to nail down that video as it kept being deleted and then reappear again. Anyways, he briefly touched on "Hotel California" stating the Eagles all but spelled it in plain English what was going on in Hollywood, but the metaphors were vague enough as to not upset the powers that be, in the industry. This video here, is spot on to what that man was saying. He was trying to warn everybody that things are not what they seem in Hollywood.
NOW the line "you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave" means!
@@joangalt6270 IN. PLAIN. ENGLISH. - ua-cam.com/video/jNn72qnp6kI/v-deo.html
@@joangalt6270You can check out dead, but not alive . Once you know what they do ...
I'd be willing to bet high that a lot of disgusting, debasing, and utterly corrupt things go on in Hollywood.
This is by far the best explanation. Hollyweird and the Chateau Marmont have very ugly ghosts in them.
Don Henley is a nice guy I worked with him promoting his 3 solo album "heart of the matter" - when I was in Radio - I told him how that song ripped my heart out and analyzed the pain of the past. - (forgiveness) -
We gotta to know each other , I also grew up in Texas and started music on the trombone just like he did, he switched to drums, I switched to guitar, we went to the same college, Stephen F. Austin, of course he was 20 years ahead of me....
ANYWAY - your analyzation of Hotel Cal. was very insightful especially going through all the 5 senses, yet I think you left out the RESPONSIBILITY of being entangled and enticed by the light, when we are at our weakness, so- HE brought himself into the hell or quandary he was in. "if you want to see your true enemy, look in the mirror" - AND as a surprise, Don sent me a Gold Album "heart of the matter" he Autographed, so now the weary traveler is part of the Beast........I quit Radio, after serving the Beast, gave my life to Jesus Christ, because our bodys are temporary, but our spirits live forever. Now I help the poor, homeless, and lost - that just cant seem to get out of the Hotel. With Jesus, I show them the way out.
Nice guy, other than the underage girls with drugs.
You lost me with sentence #1
Wow God bless you I live in Ne Texas honey grove. I would love to meet you and share the truth of Gods word over coffee. 64 And active rebuild hemi engines.
Beautiful..
Good for you, rock and roll music is addictive, and from Satan, many rock stars have admitted this in interviews. They know who the master is in this song, it's Satan, whom they serve with their demonically inspired lyrics and music arrangements.
I worked at a mental facility in Camarillo, CA that was home to not only mental patients but to drug addiction, alcohol, physical abuse, rapist, etc..ages from young to old. I was told by a former employee that Eagles
Band member was there for drug/alcohol rehabilitation. It was hush, hush! Everything confidential in this place. At this hospital there is the original mission bell tower that still has that mission bell he sings about There are the corridors he mentions in the song and other patients do yell out. You can’t just walk out and leave this facility, but you can walk the grounds. All in the song authentically depicts Camarillo State Hospital which has been there for years! It’s now been Converted to a university. But you can still feel the spirit of the hospital. Many other famous people stayed or entered themselves here. I recommend visiting the grounds if you like history. All the original buildings still there. It was its own city. You never needed to leave.
This comment hits home for me, my mother was a patient there in the early and mid 60s and I remember going and visiting her there and the place really gave me the creeps as a young child.
Our company did the plumbing on the new buildings and houses there when they converted it to a university. At first, some of us wanted to work Saturdays because there was union scale wages so, lots of money. But the first Saturday, the workers heard screams and moans coming from the old unoccupied buildings. Needless to say, we went back to working weekdays when there were lots of people there.
A band that I was briefly in played there. The patients were dancing. Some wearing helmets and some kept dancing after we finished playing a song. I saw a guy trying to not be seen. After the show, I sat at the front of the stage and let them strum my guitar that was still on. One patient asked if I had a mommy. They seemed like sweet people.
😮😮😮❤😢😢😢❤😊😊😊@dca7773 Thirty One Years Ago, My CSU dorm friend told me this Eagles inpatient rehab story, as we drove by, in my brand 🆕 teal Chevrolet Cavalier sedan, 🚗 about the vacant Camarillo State hospital,🏥 now known as CSUChannel Islands. I believe.(?) It was such a beautiful building site; I love all the 21 CA missions & the Kings 👑 Highway 🛣️ 🔔 El Camino Real sign posts, & I enjoy the various CA Missions' Roman Catholic Masses held in person and streamed online, although I respect that many Native Americans hold very different feelings towards the CA Missions, CA 👑 Kings Highway 🛣️ Mission 🔔 Bells, & San Junipero Serra statues. As a native Californian, the imagery of this song resonates with my entire lifetime and family history.✨🕯️✨🕊️
My grandpa was Bob Estrada. We'll x in-law. He was the barber. I was in the California Conservation Corp. So, I learned some things there as well. It was there on the property. This was in 1996. They just about were shut down completely.
The line 'She got the Mercedes-Benz' is actually a play on words Mercedes 'bends' which is a 70s California term used to describe someone who has the sickness of materialism. The Bends being a sickness divers get from surfacing too fast, but in this case when used with the name of an expensive car it becomes a term for a different kind of sickness. Goes right along with the 'Tiffany Twisted' line right before it.
The song in general is just about the hedonistic, decadent, materialistic, drug fueled party lifestyle the band encountered in LA after they moved west and the inherent addictiveness of that. They moved to California for the love hippy ideal but in the 70s they found it to be something different.
Founding member Bernie Leadon was previously in another band The Flying Burrito Brothers who had an album 'The Gilded Palace of Sin' which explored similar themes.
"we haven't had that spirit here, since...1969"..very meaningful line as well.
After all these stories about billioners islands, girls and kids(!) traffic, with all kinds of celebrities visiting them, and about celebrities "dark parties" revealing all the disgusting things people can ever do... the song opens up differently!
Thank you for the video!
You said "girls and kids(!) traffic . . . "dark parties" revealing all the disgusting things people can ever do... the song opens up differently".
Here's some truths along those lines.
A Ranch In California (please read the description first) -
ua-cam.com/video/ZSwBewgT7eE/v-deo.html
Well thats an interesting point. This was the Free Love and "peace" generation. On the other side of the country was the Studio 54 partygoers - drugs, women, sex, etc. So yeah I think dark parties fit, according to the generation that was opposing different movements and decided a different lifestyle would take them away from a real life...a getaway, of you would..
I actually worked at the California Hotel in Berkeley in the 80s. It was an absolute freakhole.
It’s still have ppl who live there do drugs😅 as of 2 years ago
Wow. 😮
nah.. they're singing about a different hotel in so cal. not bezerkely
California, Berkeley , or the hotel? All.. in my view
When this was released in 1977, I was a Huntington Beach Police officer assigned to the jail. The downtown H.B. druggies/alcoholics would refer to the jail as the " Hotel California". They would form an impromptu choir in the Detox cells to sing: " Welcome to the Hotel California, you can check out, but you can never leave."
If you can treat a situation with a sense of humor, especially if the joke is at least partly on you, that's a sign of class.
@@JamesThompson-zk1ht Thank you for comment.
I was a kid in 80s we lived in Fountain Valley. Had friends in H.B. Taylor Avenue. Still remember address n phone number. Was awesome to live n be there. I'd love to move back. Tired of winter here in Alaska.
@@lancelindgren5655 CA was awesome in the 80s....now it's a blue zoo. Went from Golden State to golden shower.
It sounds " more convincing theory!!!
There is a Hotel California in Baja, Mexico, as you travel down south through the Baja Peninsula to get to Cabo San Lucas.
It is a very old and unique Hotel, I was told that was the actual hotel the Eagles were referring about in the Song. They told us there's gosths and that the Eagles once stayed at the place. To this day, the Hotel continues to receive thousands of visitors who think that is "The hotel where you can check in and out, but you can never leave"
Great analysis! My whole life, I was born in 72, I have always viewed this song as super creepy, yet melodically captivating. It has some very dark undertones. Its a musical masterpiece for sure!
72 here to mate.. 👍🏻
While I love this song, I prefer the not really knowing what it means because life is shitty enough
'72 as well here, and yes that describes the feeling with H C.
Having been there as a early 20s I saw what he was singing about.
Lucifer is the Angel of music. He's also easy on the eyes! Deceiving, trickery, alluring, captivating, Hypnotic! His best traits! Stay aware, and guarded! Its real out there...hold tight to the most valuable possession on earth, your own Soul!!!! Dont let go! God Bless Us All! 🙏 Amen
In 2002 I was working in San Diego and my wife came to visit we went to Mexico. A Resort in Rosarito was suggested it was a $4 bus ride from Tiajuana. It was a bus trip on a dark desert highway no street lights very dark. You could smell open sewers that have another name "Colitas". Then there was a shimmering light as we got to the Resort. There is the old misson hotel with a court yard from the late 60s early 70s The room keys had the name on them and doubled as bottle openers. The name of the hotel? The Hotel California in Baja California. It was a run down place with bullet holes in the walls. Not the 4 star resort we stayed at but we had to check it out. I still have the bottle opener with address and phone number on it. The logo is the exact Hotel California logo and the sign in front was decades old. Coincidence?? Who knows but the trip there was the whole first verse.
Tijuana
Very interesting
Wow! Reminds me of the line from Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s do the Time Warp
Again!! 😳🤣🍾🥂🍷
The warm smell was from flowers of the desert
@@JulieHedrick-y3f Flowers instead of sewers but Don and Glenn were from TX and would have explored a bit of Mexico. It fit their sound.
Beautiful song! Now an old lady of 86, I never tire of hearing this. So meaningful - & memories of youthful, dark, endless highways to new adventures. Sigh...
Hear Hear ! ❤❤❤ and I am only 70 😊
One question, oh Lady of Great Wisdom - what in the HELL is a "colita"???
@@joangalt6270 What is it?
@@kathyg5919 Reference to smoking marijuana.
Pityriasis Rosa = colitis
Best I've ever heard...and since I was around long before the song came out, I've heard many 'explanations' for these iconic lyrics.
Well done.
The song became the unofficial song of the ship I was stationed on in that time frame. The USS California was a nuclear powered guided missile cruiser at that time home ported out of Norfolk, Virginia. What was wonderful about the song was that you could understand every word sung and the accompanying music didn't drown everything out like most music that came afterwords. The theme fit perfectly to the crew who all felt trapped in a peace time navy on a ship with no purpose other than to show the flag. I got out of the navy in 1978 with the last words of the song stuck in my head for a long time.
Thanks for the story. Your comment on trapped in a peaces time navy, triggered a thought of my dad and 2 uncles. Dad and one were in the Korean War, that uncle was severely wounded and should've never walked again. The other uncle was a Huey pilot for 3 tours of Vietnam, he was wounded on the 2nd but not bad enough to discharge. He was one of the 229th Aviation Btl who volunteered to repeated go back/forth to LZ X-Ray and other horrible spots in Ia Drang Valley in Nov 1965.
All 3 checked out of their various combat zones/countries. But I guarantee their minds never left those countries. My dad talked about the army and his experiences almost until his death at 88 years old.
Stabbing at the beast with their steely knives but can't kill the beast, sounds like a metaphore for why they were sent to these places to fight as in stop the Marxist beast from spreading. FWIW--Karl Marx was a Satan worshiper so the "beast" fits right in.
@@LuvBorderCollies The song rang so many bells in that time frame. Thank you for your story and your relatives service. I have known many of those who served in the war zones and hold all of them with the highest respect.
Welcome to US Military Psy Ops…..
Our Brigade song was “Running With The Devil. Devil Brigade 82nd Airborne Division. “The Devils in Baggy Pants.”
The misconception about Psy Ops is that it’s something that is hidden. But it’s the opposite. It is what you see and hear in your face every day.
I was in USN boot camp San Diego when that song came out, it was amazingly appropriate for our situation…
Everytime I've listened to the song, it gives me a feel of the character in the song who eventually finds himself stuck in some kind of Purgatory. No matter how many explanations contradicting this they give, it is what I perceive. Truly, one of the best songs all time.
That's the interpretation I've always had too
Definitely caught between two lives and couldn't find a way out of it...
I think the lyrics are better understood in our times, as we are seeing this play out in plain sight
Exactly. Who knew!
In plain diddy sight indeed !
/👁\
Yip totally agree with this
The song was ahead of all its audience…. Time was needed to sober a bit
The 70s were a magical time to grow up as a teenager… I can’t even begin to describe all the memories this song brings back.
I guess that’s why I learned to play and sing it… it still impacts me the same way… to this day…
Your explanation is exactly what I always thought these lyrics were about (at least to me). I often found myself in similar, weird circumstances in the 70’s where I did not understand (naïve) what was going on around me - drugs- cultish behaviors, and I wanted to flee-for the door before I was forever trapped. More than one of my friends did not escape that time! Great lyrics to an eternal song!
I was 'trapped in CA' for over 20 years, and was addicted to many drugs and cults, good & bad... And found 'My Way' out by moving to Hawaii, and embracing the 'Aloha Way'...!!
When I got out of the Navy at Miramar NAS in 1979 I went to LA and worked at The Whiskey. I was walking down Sunset and saw a poster for bartenders. Applied and worked there for 2 years. The stories I have that I'll never tell. At 65 , it was the best 2 years of my life. Thanks Brian
My brother was plane captain on F-4 at Miramar an on Enterprise aircraft carrier at sea. I visited brother on base. He let me sit in F-4 cockpit. I witnessed jet crash an parachute. Brother told me of him being ordered I to burning hanger. My fishing friend joined military to fly. He became jet pilot then a test pilot. He was picked to fly space shuttle but new wife said no! He flew from Portland to Miramar to participate in top gun. I saw him in Harley shop,where he asked me what I was doing over the weekend? We're going sailboating on Timothy Lake. While we're on lake, we hear rumbling noise. Then see 4 jets at tree level. Jet lower still over water they are making rooster tails from water. As the pass by our sailboat I see my friend solute me an wave his wings. They split around Mt Hood returning to Portland. Everyone on water an on shore now screaming with delight! I know a real top gun!
Of course you do; in your dreams.
@@timbarnett3898yea,yea,yea, an my prick is a bloater. I nipped up Mt Everest naked the other day, got to the summit made a cup of tea and got home All within a day. 🙃
@@timbarnett3898 I believe you! I knew one too, dated one a long time ago.
Never tell? Why? I am 64 I share my experiences with my family and others it is who we are?
My all-time favourite line in that song has always been "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave". My interpretation of that was, and still is, a suspicion that it may relate to drug use.
At 73, I still love to play that song at fairly high volume, as it unfailingly sends that thrill of sound and rhythm of guitars right through me. The best.😊
This song is a masterpiece.
Lyrical masterpiece
It's about the Diddy parties ..... hee hee
Not only Lyrical... the CHORDS PROGRESS IONS too. @@greatest7391
For 40 yrs this song was pondering my imagination. Your video confirms that I wasn't very far off. Great job making it.
😂me too... Great Writing I can't begin to imagine how many others have been captivated for this long each time you hear it...the mind just soars away...
I didn't understand some of the words but I understand it's meaning. It's a hotel that I am tempted to visit but I'm afraid I may never want to leave
@@rogerm3708because it's a brothel
I have liked the Eagles for years! I am a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and "Hotel California'
was one of the first songs I heard that really 'grabbed" me. AND since I was born and raised literally in Los Angeles, I got an idea of what the song was about almost immediately! And to be blunt, your analysis is right on, to use a phrase from that era!
It always spoke to me about the end of life. Which has been a recurring theme throughout my life. The line that stood out for me is “You can check out any time you like but you can never leave.” That’s why I love art in all its forms. Good art can appeal to different people in a multitude of ways.
One of my favorite Rock Songs and guitar duets from the Eagles . Never grows old . Very Profound description of the lyrics ..Good job !
I just have my suspicion that it was an Illuminati party and once you sign...you literally cant get out. Great video!
Exactly, but who knew at the time.
The satanic church and anton levay believed in do what thou will indulgence, whether it be sex drugs, anything , once you go down this path you can never really leave also the first satanic church started in 1969
You nailed it!👍
Adrenochrome addiction.
@@Donna-ff3ek Noone...all lyrics now are starting to make sense...
Excellent analysis of what I consider one of the greatest bits of song writing...at least in my lifetime. And I'm 74. Total fan of the Eagles. Absolute masters of their talent.
The harmonies man, the harmonies. Wow
I've lived in California all my life - with occasional excursions outside the state.
The meaning was immediately clear to me - no need to make things more complicated than they need to be.
Agree. I don't live in Cali, have been to LA a few times, no offense but NEVER enjoy LA. But since I was a kid I kind of understood what they were getting at. I think you're right, people are overthinking things.
I'm naturally been a fan of the Eagles as so so many are, and I'm a solo musician too and I've played and sung this song literally 1000's of times. One of my greatest joys was achieving to ay that solo at the end after performing the song. Wow, the people who hear it, love it. I play other artist's songs for one single reason, and that is to compliment and give all the credit to those who created it. What I do is try to reproduce the song in the same are on any album it was heard. I take great joy playing and singing and I like to play challenging peices because I see the awesome beauty in their creation.
As for solo's I would say Hotel California is the second best solo compared to David Gilmour's and Pink Floyd's Comfortable Numb. As a musician that's my opinion but not everyone will agree right. Either way, both are masterpieces!
Thanks for this review, it's Awesome 😁👍!
Hotel California is a true masterpiece. There are so many levels to it one never tires of listening to the song, always finding new meaning. I think it's the best rock song of the 20th century.
I've always loved the song, when I was in boot camp at Parris Island I became pals with a hard core punk kid and this was the one song we both knew all the words to and we'd sing it when cleaning the "pissers" in the head. Years later I moved to LA, did some acting, worked in the film business, went to the parties, lived the life for ten years or so.... Had a friend that lived in the building where that famous photo of the hotel lobby with the balcony exists .... I walked away from all that but am still here in LA 32 years later - At 57, having lived a wild life and having seen the underbelly and choosing to walk into the light, now reflecting on it all, stumbling upon this video is somewhat cathartic
Love this story!
What's it "really" about?😮
My father was a marine at Paris Island in the 70s. Too cool.
When I first heard the song I thought its about a guy who was driving all night (maybe high on drugs with the warm smell of colitas) tired and sleepy, eyes grew dim then suddenly saw a shimmering light. Guy thought it was a hotel as suddenly he was being welcomed (but the truth was the shimmering light came from an oncoming vehicle that he collided with) & not knowing he was dead & that the hotel was like some place where lost souls go through & he got to meet & hear about the lives/past of the other souls there. The guy, not knowing he was dead, was looking for a way to get back outside & drive away but was told that he can check out anytime but can never leave or go back again since he is no longer of the living 😅
Your interpretation is on point too, with a bit more details.
Woe
Holy cow, that’s one way to look at it! 🤔
Right next to Motel Hell...
"PLANT 'EM!
Great interpretation
In the first half minute of this video. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for calling this band, "Eagles" I hate to see places (like 60 minutes even!) address them as "The Eagles" that is NOT THE BAND'S name and I appreciate (and am subscribing) because you take the time to do it right!
Glad to have you aboard!
I thoroughly enjoyed this interpretation of the Eagles' lyrics for Hotel California. I had my own interpretation about what the song was about, but this is heavy duty and makes you think how ingenious Don Henley is as a songwriter.
think TAVISTOCK... that's who actually wrote it
To think that sawed off little A-hole actually wrote this song, lol. People are so gullible.
Who knows what these young guys were thinking about during the 70's... their music, this song puts me in a feel-good mood that I just sends me. A classic that stays on repeat in my playlist.
Maybe. What you describe fits with many Eagles songs. Not this one, for me it is different. I remember vividly my first hearing and it affected me in a way that non of their other songs have. I was not an addict. It just gets under the skin. The steely knives are probably syringes as this You Tuber alludes to.
There are obviously different ideas growing out a specific feel of life, written down under the influence of substances. Some changes surely were made to fit rhyme and rythm. At the end not even the artists can tell what exactly the lyrics mean. It means a lot to a lot of people. And therefore its art. And that is all there is.
Great job on putting this video together. Everyone has their own ideas and interpretations. Don Henley spent time in a juvenile detention center called Fred C. Nelles, located in Whittier, California, which served as the inspiration for the song. The lyrics reflect his experiences and emotions during that period of his life. For instance, the line 'Welcome to the "Hotel California"' can be interpreted as a metaphor for the detention center, with 'You can check in anytime, but you can never leave' echoing the feeling of being trapped. It's worth noting that during the 70s, juvenile records often remained clean.
Song is fandamntastic,one of my late sons' favorites. I always think of him when I hear it, bittersweet and I love it..
This is the best interpretation I've yet heard of this mysterious song.
It is certainly one of the best and I really enjoyed the time I
spent watching the video and considering the thesis.
It's an allegory. You're trapped at a concert hall having paid $595 for your ticket and realize Don Henley is lip syncing badly to a prerecorded vocal track, but you can never leave.
That’s very good.
Too sad but true!!
2023 November @
Moda.
Pure genius!
😂 Hahaaaaa!! Needed to laugh!!
Hahaha 😝
.. 1977 .. I was living in Atlanta, working for SouthernBell Telephone...I purchased Hotel California at Peaches Records & Tapes in Buckhead, I have and still listen to that album to this day, but only on the anniversary of it's release. Yeah, I'm weird, that's what my wife tells me..." _I'm 75 my music keeps me young and alive, we still dance to the beat of the music in the streets_ " 😛
Thank You !!
I haven’t heard southern bell in a long time. I grew up in Cobb county. Did you ever raft the chattahooche during the raft race? I was only 5 in 77. But I remember it and my parents going. I think my mom cut her foot real bad from the broken beer bottles
@@johncamp7679 🤣been down the Hooche many times in different states of inebriation while listening to Gary McKee on WQXI radio, wayyy back in the day 😛 looking back on those days, we were total mindless idiots in a ginormous party 😎
My wife & I...54 years now, do reminisce and have a good laugh. When our two daughters were old enough, we taught them how to have fun on the Hooche !!
We enjoy it to this day with our grands !!
@@ltdees2362 Gary McKee!! Dude, brings back so many memories of when Atlanta radio was the best. Z93 96 rock Kasey Kasem top 40. I had a great time growing up. My wife and I have been together 30 years.
I lived in Buck-head in the 90s and lived that city so much. The Lenox Mall was my favorite and I love the trees blooming in Spring. I loved Buford Hwy and there was a Red roof Inn on a hill that was so quant and just a beautiful area all over Buck Head. I miss those days. 😢🙏🌼🌼
Thanks for the profound analysis of 1 of my favorite songs of all time. It really jibes with the thoughts I've had about it.
Great video! Gonna listen to it RN :)
Thanks! It's a great song! Glad you enjoyed the breakdown!
I have been teaching ESL for more than 20 years. I used the song Hotel California in my classes to teach English. It was one of my most popular and memorable lessons taught at Chiang Mai University. In Thailand, all my Thai college students have heard the song. The parents of my undergraduate students also knew the song. So, when we finished the two class lesson, it was always interesting what the students thought of what did the song mean and they would talk to their parents about it too. I leave you with the Thai culture and perception is unique and interesting, but that would be another story... Thank you for sharing the video and I enjoyed your perspective of the song the Hotel California.
I'm very interested in Thai culture and would like to know what their perception of the song is.
This is my favorite song ever. The haunting melody. The lyrics. That guitar solo. I’ve listened to it 100 times and I get chills every time. For me, it’s always been an allegory for drug addiction, something that I struggled with myself in my younger days. “Some dance to remember, some dance to forget” especially resonates with me
That's what I thought...drugs.
My buddy visited the Hotel California back in the 80s, and he said it's a dive, which describes the debauchery in the lyrics.
It is about the OCCULT aka *satanism / luciferianism* -
which is what you have to join and pledge allegiance to (ie *sell your soul to the DEVIL* = the “god” of this world) -
in order to become FAMOUS and PART of the satanic Hellywood / Music Industry!
That’s the ONLY accurate interpretation and meaning.
So, in every sense, the band member did tell you more and more of the ACTUAL FACTS in his every explanation, respectively!
“You can *check out* any time you like, but you can NEVER LEAVE,” means:
*You can only leave their satanic secret societies* through PHYSICAL DEATH!
🚨 It is erroneously believed that once you join the Occult/secret societies/service to sATAN, if you attempt to leave it, *_they will kill you._*
Which is not untrue, judging by the manner and age of deaths of over 90% of celebrities…
So no, the devil doesn’t let you leave so easily!
BUT❗️☝️
You can only leave *by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.*
But of course, the devil and his minions will never tell you that! They keep you captive by threatening and intimidating you my physical death.
Make your choice wisely!
ASAP, while you’re still breathing.
You may not leave to see tomorrow.
⚠️📛🔥🔥🔥📛⚠️
Same... I'm old as fu*k I have listened to it more than 100 times+ Never bothered to check what the lyrics meant.. This popped up in my feed today. I always assumed it was about going to California/L.A. drug culture/addiction and debauchery. It's not a happy song. I do however enjoy the musicality, vocals and "ambiguity."
Be well!
There is no "guitar solo". A solo is played by one performer. At the end of the song, there is a duet between Felder and Walsh. It can't be a solo with two performers.
Frey and Henley had the most amazing vocals, I particularly loved Frey's voice and how he used it in their songs, and also the harmony they all seemed to naturally posses. Amazing band all round, very clever musicians. We don't get bands like this any more for some reason, or I'm just getting old.
Nah we don’t, the seventies were unique
Thanks for getting back to me. Thanks again. I really appreciate what you do. I spent 30 years drumming & I was very lyrically oriented & focused a lot on how the lead singer was phrasing to deliver the song..I was very attuned to the melody, harmony lyrics & the arrangement of the song. So, I was more of a reactive player..
figuring out what the lyrics mean & then
giving the song what it needed to move people. That's what it was all about for me. I got tons of paid work with my
song centric orientation. That process felt great.
@Lyristoric
Very cool! Very much like Ringo said, his job was to serve the song. That's the best way to approach it!
Thanks. I agree with you about Ringo.
Great lyrics, great breakdown, and great guitar solo!
This breakdown of the iconic song is pretty much dead on. Nice job!
Your explanation is as good as any I’ve heard. Kudos.
Cali phone is good diggers hangers on pretending they are something they are not.
A brilliant analysis of the lyrics. You have done a marvellous job!
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it!!
The problem is, no matter what the songwriter or performers INTEND the song to mean, its' true meaning is what it means to each person who listens to it.
Yes!
Exactly 😊
This!
Nah. That's not how that works
Your subjective interpretation does not make it the TRUE meaning. It makes it your own personal truth.
Love it when lyrics had literary value. They sure don't write songs like they used to anymore.
when talented people enter la, they go on drugs and their talent flies out the window. Then they tour for 50 years on the three or so hits they wrote before going on the drugs.
They don't even try to wrap things up in literary themes. Now they just say what they literally mean and if it's not contrived and empty, it still lacks imagery or subtlety
True, you cant analyse the lyrics on most 90s and beyond songs, they are meaninhless
Its been awhile...
Maybe you don’t listen to this genre but metal music contains a lot of this old spirit of writing. One of my favorite bands is Falling in Reverse because the lead singer and songwriter Ronnie Radke is extremely good at telling a story and it doesn’t hurt that I enjoy the fast paced music. I think that maybe the most popular music isn’t so deep anymore but there certainly are bands and artists that create masterpieces still.
Excellent breakdown, thank you. The Eagles are my favorite band and I have always wondered about this song. I now have a new appreciation and understanding.
What a great analisys of a much loved son. I was born in another country, not very familiar with the culture around that song. Great piece of history too. Thank you!
Sp glad you enjoyed it!
Great job. We'll never know for sure what it's about, but the ambiguousness of the lyrics are part of the magic of the song
I am convinced that living in LA for 2 years in the 1970s just working at a job there i have seen things i never could have imagined existed.
Me too. '73 to '76 changed my life forever. So many songs about California. I had to go. The backwoods ways I grew up with were destroyed immediately. So many great people! Such a different outlook on life! (I am grateful for the technology businesses because I'm an electronics nerd and I never looked for a job for more than 4 hours.) Put a little down and buy a car, and the world is open to you. Those four years are where I go for great memories.
Try growing up there.
You really explained Hotel California lyrics to the best, nobody has ever done it better than you! You're awesome! Thanks!
That is a great analysis. Your breakdown of this song is cool,I like it. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, so glad you like it!!
Brilliant, multi-dimensional poetry in lyrics here. The vast possibility of interpretations while not truly giving the author’s explanation offer us a wonderful experience in making this song what it means to us. It is artistry. Bravo
My buddy visited the Hotel California back in the 80s, and he said it's a dive, which describes the debauchery in the lyrics.
Hotel California, both the song and the album, are my favorites from the Eagles. I was in high school back then.
I contend that very few "starlets" bought their own Tiffany jewelry or Mercedes Benzs. They couldn't afford to. They have/had sugar daddy producers, directors, or whoever who buy "favors" from these girls with these "baubles" and promises of making their Hollywood dreams come true; "their minds are Tiffany twisted". (their heads are turned by the money being spent on them)
But of course, each party knows that its just a game with a barter system. Rich, older, powerful men using younger girls, always dangling that carrot on a stick just to keep them in their grasp.
Young, beautiful girls wanting fame and fortune either naively or knowingly end up letting the older men paw them until they get their break. But the girls don't love these old guys and so they have a "lot of pretty, pretty boys that she calls friends". When the sugar daddy is busy or away, she has her "friends" over.
That's my take on Hotel California.
Thanks.
Yes me too love the eagles and their songs
As Glen Frey commented to the other band members after watching a beautiful young lady out with a much older man, "Look at those Lyin Eyes."
A few girls get the full Svengali treatment, but most of the girls are then used in turn to entice young men wanting fame and fortune. The execs throw girls at them, the carrot to get them to sign bad contracts. These guys are so distracted by all the perks that they don't realized they're also being exploited and robbed. The company pays for their cars and drugs etc. But one day they wake up and realize that they don't own anything. There's a reason the Playboy mansion was always full of celebrities.
I saw the Eagles in 1975 at a concert in Bloomington, IN. It was pre Hotel California. the were playing songs like Witchy Woman, Take it to the Limit and etc. . 3 bands played that night. Kansas, The Eagles, and the Headliner was The Beach Boys! Fantastic concert.
The Beach Boys went everywhere! Saw them along with Steve Miller Band and Moody Blues at Alpine Valley!
Your analyses are amazing, thank you.
Many thanks in return! So glad you're enjoying the channel!
In my high school in France during the 80s, we studied it in English class. Once we had translated and learned the words, we wanted to understand more of the meaning of the song. At that point I remember our teacher said it was too dark and we would have to search for it by ourselves. To me it's since always been about a dark ceremony by some kind of sect. After understanding this, I have never been able to hear the nice melody again, much like the lyrics explain there's no coming back from that hotel. I am convinced that for the band, it was a way to let go of all the dodgy stuff they have been made aware of in Hollywood.
It's about the descent into drug addiction that once you get addicted you can never leave.
When you’re driving on PCH with the top down here in Cali, you’ll understand
This song is the same as the movie, "Eyes Wide Shot." You are right about the Hollywood sects.
Well said.
I think this is the best explanation of Hotel CA....And I concur that "once you lose your innocence, you can never go back."
The song "Gollum's Song" is about this loss, and meant as much to me personally as Hotel CA did in my youth.
I am 68 and my girlfriend and I and my friends all said, that it was about Camarillo State Mental Hospital. So it was good to hear your story, which makes a lot of sense. Ray
I've heard that it was partly inspired by The Standard Hotel in LA.
Incredible song, first heard this in my high school days in the 70s still fresh even today, a classic of 20th century!
Thank you so much for having this narrated by what sounds like an actual human, not AI. All the words are actually pronounced correctly. A pleasure.
Yes, good analysis! What a masterful song, and with one of the most perfect guitar solos ever played. Thanks.
There are two different guitarists playing it! I agree - I love the solo. B minor rules! (see also Comfortably Numb)
I'm 57 now but I was 21 when I first heard or listened to this song for the first time. It is a Godly inspired song to warn men of SIN and Addiction "Hotel California" is "A State Of Mind". I was starting to as they say "smell my self, " feel myself, and couldn't be told anything. Lured away from the Shephard under the cover of darkness like a sheep. The light was the eyes of the wolves, a demon, the beast...drugs, sex, alcohol, porn, "SIN"... Everyone there was inviting and having fun. The mission bells rang in my conscience pretty loud at first but the voices of those pleased and proud of my steps drowned them out Along with my ego....Long story short, Satin don't mind you leaving for a while as long as he still has your heart. This is why we need Jesus. He's the only one who can break the curse and free your heart. I was warned but this song became my story. Now I walk with the Lord.
Word…the enemy is selling regret and hopelessness
Knowing life over death , positive over negatives - follow the true Shepherd, Jesus .😊❤.
It Satan the devil having the audacity to tell his followers what is waiting for them for all eternity. Nazareth has a song I Sold y Soul To The Devil. These guys are satanists and dont know what danger they are in.
What was your device? How did you escape to hope? Either way I am glad you did.
Praise Jesus 🫶🏼
Great piece, you hit the nail on the head here!!! Good Stuff!!!
Much appreciated! Glad you enjoyed it!
Well... I understand this a lot better now. I'm 75, and I lived those times. I have come out on the other side a follower of Jesus. He is truly the only key to that "Hotel California."
Amen 🙏 ❤
Amen!
You can't really understand this song, without living it. Only after edging the darkness but not committing to it, I came to understand it's meaning. All of us are weary travelers at some time of our life and that is when we are most vulnerable to that welcoming hotel in the song
🙏🙏❤❤💯💯 God bless! The only way you can "check out" and leave, without offing yourself basically imo
No. There are a lot of paths to truth and self sovereignty and morality. Doesn't have to be Jesus.
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."
I've stared into it for years and you're right! You see them they see you!
Please credit the quote to Nietzsche
@@quantumkids9659 That's why I used the "quotation marks"
I was working in a hotel by the sea when this song came out. It was too far to get into town during our breaks, so we were isolated. It was run utterly chaotically by the weird foreign management and the chef was a psycho. We had to stay till the end of the season to get paid. We called it Hotel California. We really bonded in that captive summer.
Cool!
Yikes. I get a "Bodega Bay" vibe lol
Reminds me of Home by the Sea by Genesis.
:You can checkout any time your like, but you can never leave" What a line of life lesion. 💙
The 70s and 80s were awesome.
Thank you very much. Philadelphia USA 🇺🇸 Nostrovia ❤❤❤
You can't take it with you
Sure was much younger then that's the difference
@@LaurieValdez-zk3dy don't want to
Just played the CD for the first time in a long time! Forgot how great that song, and the whole album was. Played it again and again to get the feeling back of how great their music, and their lyrics are.
I always Loved this song, but I always felt the underlying darkness because of "1969", "The Beast," and " You can check out any time You Like, But You can Never Leave." Great analysis. I understand the song a lot better now.
Colitas,could be open sewers ??
Think of a brothel and listen to the song again
The beast in the song means an animal.
I think you hit the nail on the head. I was a teenager when The Hotel California first came out. I knew that a lot of songs like this had meaning in the lyrics. Like Don McLeans American Pie.
This reminds me of a conversation I had at lunch in the pediatric office in NJ I was working at in the late 90s. I was in my early 30s and was having lunch with one of my partners while one of the nurses was looking at a guidebook planning an upcoming trip. She mentioned they were considering a hotel called Hotel California. I said I hear they have plenty of room there. The nurse, oblivious to the reference, said yes the rooms look spacious as my partner began to chuckle. I then said I hear they really live it up there and the still oblivious nurse said yeah it looks like a fun place. This went on for several minutes until I finally said yeah I hear you can check out any time you like but you can never leave. By then my partner is laughing so hard she can’t finish her lunch and the nurse finally realizes I’m not talking about the hotel she’s looking at. Most of my jokes are misses but this was a direct hit.
Quick wit
Great one!!
My younger and I stayed at the hotel California in Paris when we got there we realized it was a 5 star hotel we were back packing thru. France same joke the clerk asked me when will you check out I told him I thought you could not check out he laughed my brother was puzzled 😂
😂😂😂
You did a great job breaking down the song, It's kinda the way I see it too. Incidentally, the best (non Eagles) version I've ever heard, was on a dinner cruise on the Nile river, played by an Egyptian rock band. It was a kind'a freaky night. They band members were so happy that a real Californian loved their version. Alas, they didn't have their own cassette or CD version for sale, but were extremely complimented that I would offer to buy one. That was my Hotel California mini adventure in Cairo. Life is strange
That sounds amazing!
I heard a young Scandinavian women sing it while strumming a guitar in a Hostel Courtyard in Prague 30 years ago. She was mesmerizing and gorgeous, and I'm still haunted by her version. In My Opinion, Frey's nasal whining destroys the dreamy beauty of this classic, and it's BEST sung by a women, and it's s shame that Linda Ronstadt never covered it, nor any other famous woman.
This is an intelligent, in-depth analysis of the song, one which now, I appreciate more. One thing....the image you included of an LA recording studio is actually in Sausalito, CA (Marin County) and coincidentally, was the place where much of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album. It was called the Record Plant.
Thanks! You are correct. That image was of the former Sausalito studio. Record Plant is now in LA, while that building is 2200 Studios. Oddly, Record Plant actually began NY from what I understand.... and suddenly I'm dizzy! ✌️ 🍻
This was an excellent & informative video.
I learned some things here. Thanks & please keep up the great work.
Many thanks in return! So glad you liked it!
My English class in my senior year used Hotel California as a creative writing tool. We got to write out what we thought the song meant. It was so fun.
I never new all the words to this song. Focussing on the last parts of the song; (you can check out any time you want, but you can never leave.) to me, it sounded like the Hotel California was a cemetery.
This is an incredibly written and thought out song by the writer. So much detail with so few words with so many personal opinions on each meaning.
I distinctly remember watching an interview with Don Henley, some years back, where he talked about the play on words that he did with the Mercedes line. It's "Mercedes BENDS", like a sea diver getting the bends upon surfacing.
I wish I could've come across that. The official lyric sheets have it as "Benz." But "Mercedes 'bends'" makes a lot of sense as a compliment to the previous line's "Tiffany 'twisted'" - bending and twisting. Oh well, that's why we have the comment section! Thanks!
That sounds highly unlikely.
It could be the pain of withdrawal.
@@islanderbyrd1881 Or life in general...
I was reading through the comments to see if anyone else picked up on the Benz / Bends thing. I have a vinyl album with lyrics (not accessible atm) and I'm pretty sure last time I looked it said Bends.
Will we ever see the likes of The amazing song writing from amazing Bands like the Eagles again??
?? Sadly ?? Most likely Not.. our younger generation have No clue of how to understand, conceive, Write and express Any sort of story line that can be developed into meaningful music/Song now a days. Today it's about cus words, violence and computer generated instrument sounds thrown together and labeled and targeted for young kids.
Yes some excellent songs from the likes of Lewis Capaldi.
There has been some great music the past 30 years but if you don't like it that's on you it's subjective. beauty is in the eye of the beholder
@@chavinho7793 Yeah, but will we ever see the bands write amazing songs that last the test of time like the Eagles?? Yeah the 90s was awesome 00's wasn’t bad. But the 20s has been shithouse. Name one song written this decade that you consider an amazing piece of Music
@unSTEVOED trueeee there just ain't bands anymore rock died rap took over. BUT some rappers have good songs. Like Kendrick Lamar j Cole drake childish Gambino but yeah not many
Great job on breaking down the meaning of the song. My take was that the band was describing each of them as musians finding fortune and fame. Once they become famous they checked in the Hotel. They all are drawn to the chambers to be tempted by there own personal demons women, alcohol and drugs. Now that they have checked in they can check out but they never can really leave.
I've always seen it as Limbo. The protagonist collided with an oncoming vehicle after passing out, and found himself at the Hotel California, with the many other travelers that have met their end on that highway. There's a great movie called "The Circle" that perfectly encapsulates the song, in my opinion.
WOW you forever changed the way I listen to this song!!
Great job ❣️🙌🏼❣️
Fantastic! My favorite is the Hall of Fame. I’d got the general idea of it being a comment on LA in the 70s but that detailed breakdown was really fascinating.
Glad you found it interesting!
I was driving in a highway in northern China three years ago, and tuned in a radio station that broadcast nothing else but Hotel California. I listened for four hours until I left the area. That was the weirdest driving experience I ever had. Sorry for my bad English😅
😂
What a coincidence?
Wow
I hope your social score was up to standards😂
Hmmmm...
I have always contemplated what the lyrics of this song are saying. Thank you for bringing me closer to its meaning with your interpretation.
I believe The Doors song, "L.A. Woman" is similar. A lot of people think it's about loving LA, I think it's about how Hollywood chews up young women and spits them out in pieces...
"Are you a luck little lady in the City of Lights? Or just another lost angel? City of night..."
I've met a lot of women who came to LA to "make it big." Most get regular jobs, or worse, and that's depicted in the song too...
"Cops in cars, the topless bars, never seen a woman so alone... Motel money murder-madness. Let's change the mood from glad to sadness."
Most of the women I met who got spit out by the system, are very alone, and there's a facade of gladness, until after the motel money changes hands. They find a way to justify selling out their dreams, but in the end, they're alone, it's pretty sad.
You are right on the money the Door's had a few other's like that like rider's on the storm about serial killer's hitchhiking to get there next victim they grew up that way into this house we're born into this world we're thrown like a dog without a bone or hackler all alone.....
@@RobertMajor-jq2ke I didn't know that about Riders on the Storm. Thanks!
Very true, I know some of those women myself.
Thank you! I really enjoyed your description and thoughts about the lyrics.
When you described at a party members might gather in a room to shoot up heroin (or maybe that was my interpretation), I thought the steely knives might be the needles. And then the addiction is hard to escape from. You can shoot up (being to check out) but you’ll be back for more
A valid interpretation, I think! Stabbing it with their steely knives (the needles) would assuage the desire for a hit temporarily, but you’d never be able to “kill the beast” (end the cravings for heroin/whatever) that way.
As a teen with absolutely no experience of drugs at the time, I just experienced the song as a creepy, dreamlike or hallucinatory experience. Not sure I’d ever seen Twilight Zone at the time, but now that’s what it brings to mind - where any road you try to take out of the place just brings you back to where you started.
@ whenever I hear the song now I have a new appreciation, where it used to kind of bug me lol Thanks!❤️