The Eagles - Hotel California - Song Meaning

The Eagles were one of the most successful bands of the 1970’s. Their first album titled “The Eagles� went gold a year and a half after it was released in June of 1972. The album was a moderate hit (going gold a year and a half later) and produced the Top 40 hits "Take It Easy" (written by Frey and Jackson Browne), "Witchy Woman," and "Peaceful Easy Feeling.� The second album that The Eagles released was an album called “Desperado.� Unfortunately for The Eagles, this album did not do as well as their first album. This album focused more on a rebel or outlaw type of image for the band, and was somewhat unsuccessful for the band and their image. The band then turned to drugs for a way out. This would influence the rest of their career as a band, and the music that they wrote. For their third album, “On The Border,� released in 1974, the group added guitarist Don Felder. This album went gold in three months, rather than a year and a half like their first album did. This album also produced a number one hit called, “Best of My Love.� It took quite a while for this album to reach number one though. It was almost a full year after the release of the album that this song hit

An addiction to a certain drug is very serious. Heroin is a drug that can be very inviting at first but then trapping in the end. It can take over a person’s whole life. This person may feel trapped in a place that he or she can’t get out of. This is exactly what The Eagles were singing about when they wrote “Hotel California” the song. The first stanza of the song says that this person is traveling and is getting tired and needs to stop for the night. The meaning that I pull out of that is, the need for heroin. The song goes on to say, “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…” The meaning behind this is a simple meaning. This means that Heroin is very inviting and a person can be pulled in quite easily by its temptation.

The next part of the song is the chorus. It is, “Welcome to the Hotel California. 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.” This part of the song is the actual invitation from the drug to the user. The invitation is accepted in the next part of the song. After the accepting of the invitation, the using of the drug occurs. This part of the song is the usage of the drug. “So I called up the captain; please bring me my wine. 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…” In this stanza, the “wine” is the heroin, and the captain is the needle. Then the song goes on to say th