Song of the Day – Day 11- Hotel California – The Eagles

Hotel California by the Eagles is undoubtedly one of the best songs ever written, and it is one of my all-time favourites. Written by Don Felder, Don Henley and Glenn Fry it was recorded in 1976 and released in 1977.

It reached Number 1 in the US and Canada and the top 10 in 7 other counties. It only reached number 8 in the UK charts despite being certified Silver. It was also certified Gold in the US for physical singles but Platinum for downloads and Platinum in Italy.

The song has received many accolades since its original chart success, it won the 1977 Grammy Award for Record of the Year. It is ranked number 49 in the Rolling Stones Magazines 500 greatest songs of all time. The Guitar solo in this song has been voted the best guitar solo of all time. Those are some pretty hefty accolades if you ask me.

Here are the 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, that 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!’

What do you think of this song, is at much of a classic for you as it is for me?

It’s not actually my favourite Eagles song but it is so Iconic.