23 (V)
Hotel California
On a dark desert highwayCool wind in my hairWarm smell of colitasRising up through the airUp ahead in the distanceI saw a shimmering lightMy head grew heavy and my sight grew dimI had to stop for the nightThere she stood in the doorwayI heard the mission bellAnd I was thinkin' to myself'This could be heaven or this could be hellThen she lit up a candleAnd she showed me the wayThere were voices down the corridorI thought I heard them sayWelcome to the Hotel CaliforniaSuch a lovely place (such a lovely place)Such a lovely facePlenty of room at the Hotel CaliforniaAny time of year (any time of year)You can find it hereHer mind is Tiffany-twistedShe got the Mercedes bends, uhShe got a lot of pretty, pretty boysThat she calls friendsHow they dance in the courtyardSweet summer sweatSome dance to rememberSome dance to forgetSo I called up the Captain"Please bring me my wine"He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969"And still those voices are calling from far awayWake you up in the middle of the nightJust to hear them sayWelcome to the Hotel CaliforniaSuch a lovely place (such a lovely place)Such a lovely faceThey livin' it up at the Hotel CaliforniaWhat a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)Bring your alibisMirrors on the ceilingThe pink champagne on iceAnd she said, "We are all just prisoners here of our own device"And in the master's chambersThey gathered for the feastThey stab it with their steely knivesBut they just can't kill the beastLast thing I rememberI was running for the doorI had to find the passage backTo the place, I was before"Relax", said the night man"We are programmed to receiveYou can check out any time you likeBut you can never leave"
Decoding the Eagles’ Signature Song, Hotel California
The term “colitas” literally means “little tails” in Spanish, but according to Felder, the colitas is a plant that grows in the desert which blooms at night and has a kind of pungent, almost funky smell. The little tails are the very top of the plant.
This is a wordplay describing the almost hypnotic effects of the “cool wind,” “warm smell of colitas,” and “shimmering light” in the earlier lines. The wind and smell of colitas were pleasant, but the traveller is ready for a change of pace. Many believe that the eye is the window to the soul, and guides a person down his or her path. And when the sight grows dim, it can suggest an opening to possible trouble. And there “she” was, standing in the doorway – where “she” could be many things: perhaps a woman, a bad decision, his past, or his future. The bottom line: “She” is bad news that happens to look very good.
There is a chance the song is referring to San Miguel Arcángel, one of California’s oldest inland missions. Mission or church bells tend to ring for church functions, but, in this case, it can also serve as a divine warning from above – a call to escape. It would then be a contrast to the mysterious female in the doorway. However, in this confusing scene, the efficacy of the bell is questionable – and seems to be part of the force drawing him into the hotel. The question is if the bell is warning or seducing him. As for the perplexity between “heaven” and “hell,” most would agree that it’s referring to the hedonistic Hollywood lifestyle, and specifically that which ruled in the music industry.
The “candle” might be referring to a cigarette or the less literal meaning of light, as illuminating the path. “She showed me the way” refers to the woman leading him into a life of drugs, sex, and hedonism. There is also the possibility that the traveller is painting the woman as some kind of Ariadne figure – a saviour who leads him both in and out of the darkness. These “voices” are the temptation and seduction of making music and the lifestyle that accompanies it in California (aka the hotbed of the entertainment industry). The Hotel California is not meant to be an actual brick and motor hotel, but more of a metaphor. Joe Walsh related to the popular question of “Where’s the Hotel California?” he said, “A lot of places say they’re the one. There is no ONE. It was L.A.” In the ‘80s, several Christian evangelists alleged that Hotel California referred to a San Francisco hotel bought by Anton LaVey – the founder of Satanism – who then converted into the Church of Satan. The Hotel likely represents memories, and in this case, the memories are specific to Henley and the other Eagles as they were making a name for themselves in the industry. The Hotel is that “safe haven” of both nostalgia and guilt – avoiding both the future and the present by living in the past.
“Tiffany-twisted” is a reference to the infamous jewellery chain Tiffany & Co. Tiffany connotes wealth; it caters to bejewelled, glamourous women who enjoy the bow around the box. “Her mind” is tied up in all the materialism typical of the life of luxury. As for the Mercedes-Benz, it could be taken literally, of course, but it could also be a reference to the Janis Joplin song Mercedes-Benz (“Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz, My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends…”). There’s also a play in the pronunciation of “Benz” as “Bends.” The “bends” is another name for decompression sickness, which occurs when you go up too fast when diving. That said, it could be a metaphor for her “twisted” mental state.
This verse could easily be referring to the woman (“she”) in the first verse or perhaps another female guest of the “Hotel.” Either way, the idea is somewhat clear: she’s a wealthy woman. But what we’re seeing here is that she’s past her prime – her various sexual partners are called “boys,” indicating an age gap. The way the word “pretty” is overly enunciated seems to mean something, though. It leads some to believe that the boys “she calls friends” are actually gay. That is, the adjective “pretty” has often been used in a derogatory way to refer to gay men.
We all know that a “spirit” is a highly distilled liqueur; wine is not a spirit. So “spirit” in this lyric is a mood or feeling. When asked about the wine/spirit discrepancy, Henley revealed that many have “completely misinterpreted” the lyric and even “missed the metaphor.” He explained that the line in the song has pretty much nothing to do with alcoholic beverages. “It’s a sociopolitical statement,” he stated. “My only regret would be having to explain it in detail to you, which would defeat the purpose of using literary devices in songwriting and lower the discussion to some silly and irrelevant argument about chemical processes.” Well then…
“Those voices” are always on the traveller’s mind, haunting him. The end of the second verse continues on the same note the first (“There were voices down the corridor; I thought I heard them say”). The lyrics continue with the imagery of a prison – a prison of vices… and “voices.” The voices in the “middle of the night” can be the other “guests” in the “Hotel,” but they can also be the cravings you can’t escape. Going from “I thought I heard” to “(I) hear them say,” might mean that he tried to forget his experiences at the Hotel, but the sounds keep haunting him, luring him back.
Henley was the one who decided on the theme of “Hotel California,” pointing out that The Beverly Hills Hotel became both a literal and symbolic focal point of their lives during the ‘70s. He said that if he had to sum it up in one sentence, it would be “The end of the innocence, round one.” He also spoke of the band’s experience in L.A. at the time: “We were getting an extensive education, in life, in love, in business. Beverly Hills was still a mythical place for us. In that sense, it became something of a symbol, and the ‘Hotel’ the locus of all that L.A. had come to mean for us.”
The “mirrors on the ceiling” can be a double entendre. One meaning can be the idea of constantly being watched and captured – rock stars do something, paparazzi captures it, and they end up watching themselves on TV. Then there’s also the fact that sleazy hotels tend to have mirrors on the ceiling, which might be a sexual innuendo and suggest that Hotel California is cheap (both literally and spiritually). Then, there’s the “Pink champagne on ice” lyric, which touches on the sugar coating of the degeneracy of the “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” lifestyle that is Hotel California. People are literally drinking from rose-coloured glasses.
This line is key to the metaphor of the whole song. The Hotel, with all its pleasures, is really just a prison that they are stuck in because of their own “devices,” or rather vices. One definition of the word “device” is “a crafty scheme or trick,” meaning they have tricked themselves into living in a prison.
“And in the master’s chambers
They gathered for the feast”
This is the climax of the decadence, and there’s an underlying spookiness that comes with these lyrics. Everyone is essentially subject to the master – it’s something that can’t be avoided. “Master,” “chamber,” and “feast,” are all words associated with high class, high power.
Frey revealed that the “steely” adjective is a shout out to Steely Dan. Apparently, Walter Becker’s girlfriend loved the Eagles. According to Frey, it was something that drove Becker nuts. Apparently, the couple was having a fight one day, which led to the lyric, “turn up the Eagles, the neighbours are listening” in the song Everything You Did. During the writing of Hotel California, Frey admitted that they wanted to strike back. “We just wanted to allude to Steely Dan rather than mentioning them outright.” So, instead of “Dan”, they changed it to “knives,” which is still, as Frey put it, “you know, a penile metaphor… stabbing, thrusting, etc.”
The traveller’s eyes are open to the horrors of “Hotel California,” and he is running away from his nightmares and nostalgia in order to go on with his life. It’s kind of an interesting juxtaposition with the beginning of the song, where he was at first on the road trying to escape real life.
“I had to find the passage back
To the place, I was before”
He’s trying to find his way back to self-actualization and realness – away from the materialism and hedonism of Hollywood. He wants to return to the person he once was before he was steered off his path. If taken as a drug metaphor (it was the ‘70s after all), then this can either refer to a “bad trip,” or to quitting drugs in general – back to sobriety.
The “night man” can be a reference to the hotel’s overnight guard, but he also represents the part of the traveller that wants to stay and keep partying. Society and human nature seem to be telling him to “relax;” there’s a lot of pleasure to be had. The next line suggests that the human psyche is “programmed” to enjoy receiving things more than giving. In other words, it’s only natural for people to surrender to such desires. Biochemically speaking, the cells in the body communicate by binding chemical signals to a receptor. In this sense, the body is technically “programmed to receive.” When using drugs, the chemicals attach to the receptors which cause a certain stimulation.
This lyric gives the impression that while you can physically leave the hotel, you can’t go back to a normal life, unscathed. The “hotel” had a hold on the traveller and always will. You can take the man out of the hotel, but you can’t take the “hotel” out of the man, so to speak. The song’s ending is ambiguous. Does our traveller make it out? Does he find his way back to himself? Or does he succumb to the pull of the hotel? His fate is left up to us, the listener, to decide. After all, it’s something the Eagles wanted from the beginning – the “vaguery.”
The Guitar Solo
The song ends with a long dual guitar solo by Felder and Walsh, which happens to be one of the Eagles’ most famous guitar solos. It’s even considered to be one of the best of all time. This solo actually took two days to record as they wanted to get it perfect. Felder said that when he wrote the ending, he recorded his guitar sections on a Les Paul and played Walsh’s “answers” on a Strat so that it would “sound like a different guy, the way Joe might play it.” When they were in the studio, he and Walsh started jamming, and Henley said, “No, no, stop! It’s not right.” He replied, “What do you mean it’s not right?”
No comments:
Post a Comment