What's the true meaning behind "Hotel California"? (Camarillo: apartments, neighborhood)

[Vascodagama]

Originally Posted by BacktoBlue

"Don Henley and Glen wrote most of the words. All of us kind of drove into LA at night. Nobody was from California, and 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, and so it was kind of about that... what we started writing the song about. Coming into LA... and from that Life In The Fast Lane came out of it, and Wasted Time and a bunch of other songs."

He also stated that the band refutes and claims that the song has anything to do with satanic churches or mental hospitals, etc.

"colitas" in the first stanza of the song is a desert flower, also known as Antelope sage or Colita de Rata, Don Henley has made many references to the "heady desert flower"

Also "Killing the beast" has nothing to do with a drug addiction. The line "stab it with their steely knives But they just can't kill the beast" is a reference as a playful nod to Steely Dan in return for the Eagles being referred to in the song "Everything you did" as "Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening".

The End

colitas is "bud" aka "pot" aka "smoke" aka "marajuana" ...

[BluSpark]

One very SURPRSING fact about the recording of the album Hotel California. The album was PRIMARILY recored in MIAMI, FLA....and NOT in LA. Some re-mixing was done in LA.

[Twinkle Toes]

Never really thought about it, although my mother always told me it was a song about being in Hell. My kids play it on their guitars a lot and sing along, but I never really gave the meaning any thought, until now. I dig the Eagles!

[Vascodagama]

Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes

Never really thought about it, although my mother always told me it was a song about being in Hell. My kids play it on their guitars a lot and sing along, but I never really gave the meaning any thought, until now. I dig the Eagles!

IMO one of the best bands of my lifetime ... next to Bob!

[pigeonhole]

Don't even want to know the "true meaning"...it's like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"...the "deep meaning" lies probably more in the brains of potheads than in the songwiter's...anyway, I probably heard that Hotel California song for 30 years about hundreds of times on commercial radios, in Malls, PA sustems, etc. Just can't stand to hear it anymore! (and it's not that an awesome song anyway...)

[alphamale]

America's Beatles.

[Ketabcha]

I simply don't care what the song is about. All I know is when I hear it I am transported to some happy place in my memory and I start singing.

[.highnlite]

Hotel California is in Todos Santos on the west coast of Baja Sur, a long time well known surfing spot for SoCalians. It is said, (possibly started by the hotel management) that the hotel is the inspiration for the name.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

I always thought it was a lament on the fake nature of the film and music biz. Y'know, the fake, shallow people who make up the strata of society that people from flyover country (that includes San Diego) assume all of us denizens of the GLAMA live in.

San Diego is flyover country?

[the city]

The main singer was hospitalized at Camarillo State Hospital. It talks about his experience and maybe the wonders of California.