The Eagles STUN With Live ‘Hotel California’!

The Eagles’ Journey From Innocence to Experience

‘Hotel California’, the surrealistic tale of a weary traveler by the Eagles is a gorgeous song and was made for long drives down the highway at sunset. Whether you’re an Eagles fan or not, I think we can all agree that this is their masterpiece!

The Eagles aimed for a full sensory experience in their songwriting. Don Felder says, “When we try to write lyrics, we try to write lyrics that touch multiple senses, things you can see, smell, taste, hear.”

Live, the Eagles are always a treat. It seems like they’re getting better with age, and as they continue on their own personal journeys the songs become more poignant and more powerful, especially when done live.

Even the band loves how abstract ‘Hotel California’ is! Glenn Frey says the success of the song comes from the audience creating stories in their minds based on the images.

+ Hotel California lyrics +

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
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 bends
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! “