DON FELDER (MUSIC), DON HENLEY, AND GLENN FREY (LYRICS).

DON FELDER, DON HENLEY, GLENN FREY

• Donald William "Don" Felder is an American musician and songwriter, best known for his work as lead guitarist for the Eagles from 1974 to 2001.
• Donald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career.
• Glenn Lewis Frey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, producer and actor, best known as a founding member of Eagles.

HOTEL CALIFORNIA

• http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/eagles/hotelcalifornia.html

CALIFORNIA IS A STATE, BUT IT IS LIKE A PARADISE IN THE US, THINGS ARE ALLOWED/HAPPEN THERE THAT DON'T HAPPEN OR WOULD BE FROWNED UPON IN OTHER Places
So the song is referring to the whole state as a hotel

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night

• Glenn Lewis Frey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, producer and actor, best known as a founding member of Eagles. Wikipedia

PARAPHRASE

• Very literal
• Cool wind in my hair, he is on a bike
• The smell of colitas,he is outside
• Desert, california is a huge desert
• Its nighttime and he is tired, he sees a hotel and decides to stop

There she stood in the doorway, I heard the mission bell
Then 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

PARAPHRASE

• She- mystical being/prostitute/drug
• Mission bell- church, referencing god
• Showed me the way- use of drugs, religious refernce
• Voices down the corridor- lost souls

"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"

PARAPHRASE

• Hotel California- a mindset
• Plenty of room at the hotel California- always room for more people
• You can find it here- drugs, sex, rock n roll, freedom, no societal strings pulling you

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

PARAPHRASE

• Tiffany twisted- glamorous drugs, cocaine ecstacy etc
• Pretty pretty boys she calls her friends- drugs, sleeping around
• How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat- a figurative dance of will and drug induced
• Some dance to remember some dance to forget-
• Remeber- happiness, something before Forget- themselves, some sadness, what was before and what could be after

So 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 away
Wake you up in the middle of the night just to hear them say

PARAPHRASE

• Captain- god, the ship is sinking
• Wine- no wine, the blood of christ, possibly this is the devils advocate
• The voices- lost spirits, gave their souls for something now they wander forever

They're living it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise
(What a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis"

PARAPHRASE

• Hotel california- a prison of the mind and in a religious way
• Living it up- they are trapped forever doing the same things over and over

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

PARAPHRASE

• Mirrors on the ceiling, pink champagne on ice- its a forever party
• "We are all just prisoners here of our own device"- whichever drug you are addicted to, if you gave your soul for something
• Masters chambers- the devil
• Couldnt kill the beast- the devil playing a game
• The beast- their own inner demons

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."

Last thing I remember I was running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before- trying to find a way out, being conscience to be free of the drug or whatever is holding you back

"Relax," said the night man, "We are programmed to receive
You can check out any time you like but you can never leave."- you can always get in, no matter there is endless room, you can check out but they don't let you go.
The addictions to the drug is always sitting right where you can see it until you fall back in again.

CONNOTATION

• End rhyme
• Concrete poetry
• Firgurative language
• Imagery
• Assonance & Ballad

ATTITUDE

• Desperation
• Smooth
• Informative
• Nonchalant- unattached

SHIFT

• So I called up the Captain,
• After this point he is on a sinking ship

Title
The title is about addiction, being trapped in the hotel California or in other words your mind

In many ways, this is a story about California in general, and Los Angeles in particular. Don Felder, the guitarist for The Eagles who wrote the tune for "Hotel California," has talked about how the song was inspired by driving into Los Angeles filled with high expectations that were later disappointed: "If you drive into LA at night you can just see this glow on the horizon of lights and the images that start running through your head of Hollywood and all the dreams that you have." To many – the speaker in "Hotel California" included – Los Angeles seems like a beautiful oasis on the edge of a dark, squalid desert. Hundreds of thousands of people have migrated to California in search of sunshine, beautiful women, money, and fame. Yet many find this dream to be a mirage. As the nightman of the Hotel explains, "we are programmed to receive."

BIBLIOGRAPHY