Hotel California Lyrics mean different things to different people!
Considered to be the most well known recording by the Eagles, Hotel California is the title track from the album by the same name released in 1976.
The song was released as a single in 1977 and is still as popular today as it was back then.
According to the Eagles themselves the lyrics were their interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles and in a 2013 documentary 'History of the Eagles' Don Henley said that the song was about...
"A journey from innocence to experience..... that's all"
There are so many different interpretations of the Hotel California lyrics but in general it is about the American culture of materialism & excess in the 70's. Basically you can interpret the lyrics in whatever way you want.
Don Felder created the songs' instrumental demo whilst renting a property on Malibu Beach. He gave copies of the recording to Glenn Frey & Don Henley who liked the 'Mexican Reggae or Bolero' sound and it was given its' first working title 'Mexican Reggae'.
After playing around with the recording in the Criteria Studio in Miami fine tuning instrumentals & lyrics, five or six of the best takes were chosen and the best parts of each were then mixed together to produce the final cut of the Hotel California lyrics & instrumentals.
Felder had doubts about releasing Hotel California as a single but Henley decided it should be released even though it was a 6 minute single that the record company did not think would get airplay on the radio.
The band stood their ground and refused to back down to the record labels' demands to shorten the track.
Hotel California went on to top the charts in the USA for a week in in May '77. Having reached the No.1 position in the Billboard Hot 100 and achieving the Top 10 in many international charts, Hotel California is one of the most iconic songs ever recorded.
The sales of 1 million digital downloads in 2009 saw the song certified platinum by RIAA (recording industry association of America ) & since then the song has gone on to record sales in excess of 33 million.
In 1998 the Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and all seven former and present members of the group performed Hotel California together on stage.....How incredible that must have been !!!
The Eagles are an iconic band who will most definitely take their place in music history and will continue to accompany us with their Hotel California lyrics on those dark desert highway road trips for many more years to come.!!