Hotel California

So I was just walking through campus and I heard the Eagles song "Hotel California" echoing through the brisk February air. I stopped to listen as the remainder of the song played...

A few months ago, I realized that this is one of my favorite songs ever written. The girlfriend and I go to this amazing Mexican joint in Delaware, La Tolteca. Every Friday night a few mariachis play, walking around to different tables while patrons make requests and enjoy the tunes. Anyway, they do an unbelievable Hotel California cover and every time I go to this place on a Friday, I anxiously wait for them to reach our table so we can request it. Every time I hear the cover I listen to the lyrics closer than the time before and it has caused an obsession of sorts.

I used to be the type to believe that a song had one meaning that was more real to the owner's intent when writing the piece than all others. While this may still be true to some extent, the meaning I feel through specific lines of this song feel so specific to me. Put some of my favorite parts in bold. Listen to the song a few times. Just some random thoughts, but then again, is any part of this blog not completely random?



On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here

Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes benz
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

So I called up the Captain,
'Please bring me my wine'
He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device'
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
'Relax,' said the night man,
'We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!'