About david Expertise I am a self-proclaimed Eagles expert based on my voracious research in libraries and on the internet. Have taped hundreds of hours of live Eagles radio interviews and any and all television broadcasts of Eagles related biographies or interviews. Own every Eagles record, including the newly-released box set and have aquired the autograph of Glen Frey, been to Winslow Arizona, and conversed with their original promoter. Seen the band twice, once on my birthday! Using a Don Henley song in my wedding. Used a dissertation on the meaning of the song "Hotel California" as the basis for a public speaking class in college.
Eagles, The - Meaning of the song "Hotel California
Expert: david - 12/12/2001
Question Hi
Please could you send me your explanation of the Song "Hotel California"
I am doing some research for a collegue of mine at work , and she LOVES that song !
Thanks in advance,
Cliff
Answer The song really isn't about anything according to Glenn Frey. His quote from a radio interview a few years back was: “we were listening to a lot of Steely Dan records at the time and were impressed with the way that they could make ‘junk sculpture' lyrics about nothing and make them work into a song.”
The song is a great narrative tale about decadence (pink champagne) and mysticism (a spooky dungeon-like house) and even botany (the smell of colitus!), but it certainly has no realm in fact.
Don Felder brought the rough guitar track to Henley/Frey and asked them if they could do anything with it. This is unusual in that songs by them were typically written the other way around. It serves as an interesting note that further proves that they did some serious ad-libbing and probably got the booze and drugs flowing before they wrote this song.
The album on the whole is all about the southern California lifestyle at that time (Life In The Fast Lane, Last Resort) and shouldn't be looked at in any other way.
