Thank you for taking all that time to delve into this timeless song and share your insightful thoughts with us. Your illustrations are outstandingly beautiful. I was 27 when the song came out and, of course, blown away by the sound. My imagination painted a picture of driving through the night and over the border to Baja California, Mexico. My interpretation of "You can check out anytime you like. But you can never leave," meant "checking out" on heroine. I only smoked weed; however, the prevalence of drugs was everywhere and definitely influenced my thinking. Right now, Hotel California is playing in my head, and I need to have a listen once more, this time from your perspective.
Sandy- You’re absolutely right about the possibility of that interpretation. No doubt there’s a thematic similarity there. Did you first listen to it on the radio? Curious how now music comes out on our phones and no longer the radio. And yes, definitely have a relisten while thumbing through the indices. It’d be interesting.
Yes, on the radio, then immediately buying the album and a cassette for the car! I hit Google to see the album cover again, and woah, you can quickly go down a rabbit hole about the lyrics.
The cassette is such a great thing! Remember rewinding it with our finger? And you’re right: the lyrics are boundless. Did you remember making mix tapes too? 📼
The summer of 1979, Gainesville Florida. My first rock concert, with the Eagles. 46 years ago and I still remember if well. The whole stadium was enraptured when they played Hotel California. That's my first memory whenever I hear the song. Two lines always stuck out for me. "You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave." I always took that to mean that the culture of that place would always draw you back. Decadence has a way of pulling you back towards it, even when you want to leave it behind. And "we haven't had that wine since 1969. Having been a wee lad in '69 I always took that line to be a reference to Woodstock and the summer of love and how that had been lost in the '70's. And of course the music itself. those guitar riffs are iconic. Like so many of that era by so many great musicians. Thanks for the trip down memory lane Thalia.
David—I love this personal reference. You might be onto something with Woodstock and the summer of love. I’ll never look at it the same way again now. Which venue did they play during that concert that you attended? It must’ve been quite epic! Were you able to see the stage close enough, David?
I was so looking forward to reading this illustrated essay Thalia, and it delivered in spades. Firstly, thank you for the mention and quote. It's go gratifying when something in one's work can play even a small part in sparking a reaction in another writer....and when it's as good as this, so much the better. I did as suggested and listened as I scrolled through your beautiful images, and right there and then whole new dimensions and interpretations to the song seemed to appear.
I hadn't thought of the captain and the wine in a nautical context for some reason....but yes, it's all there to hear and see if we choose to. A ship of the desert.....another aspect to the journey, from internalised to external and back again. I am sure this is integral to the appeal across cultures and generations that we both have covered in our respective essays: we all take our own imagery and meaning, but that can even change in subsequent listening and engagement with the music.
Also you picked up on one more subtle but disquieting and somehow maybe dissonent aspect of the music, which is the chord progression and totally incongruous reggae rhythm to underpin a lyric which is in no way connected with that part of the world or its cultural references. But Henley and Frey were able to see the possibilities where most would say: "...wait a minute, nah, how can THAT ever work??". The musical structure of the record is a whole other piece in itself though.
And as to WHY that duelling guitar solo is also regarded as maybe the best - or certainly the most learnt and repeated - solo of all time? Well, I am sure there a hundred analyses on YT by various authorities on these things. By which I mean, "credentialled" musicians who pick it apart after-the-fact and try to explain to us proles why it is so truly great, as if we don't just know that instinctively. It don't take no experty-advice to recognise pure magic when one hears it. It's like trying to explain a rainbow. Who cares? It's a rainbow, and we never get tired of seeing one appear after a storm. It's just magic, a lighting bolt from the blue, musical and lyrical alchemy.
You’re so right about different interpretations on any text, Jim. I especially love your analogy on the rainbow.
Interestingly, my mind went straight to nautical with regard to the “Captain.” But to your point, it could be so much more. A pilot. A driver. A friend. A guide. A restaurant. Bartender. Whatever else.
I’ve long contended with verse 5 (one of my favorites). And every person I’ve asked has a different interpretation on what “the beast” meant. Curious to hear your take.
....and also: who is the "master" in his chambers, now you come to mention that verse? It's as if Don Henley is throwing out oblique clues and then throwing us off by taking another direction with the next verse isn't it?
I think I sort of alluded to my interpretation or sense of the writer's intent when I said something in my analysis about insatiable consumerism and consumption (gadgets, food, natural resources etc) or some similar wording. And I would enlarge on that by adding that maybe he means the inability to break free from the pattern as it takes on a life force of its own. In essence, the more we become enthralled by the consumerism palace, the less inclined we are to see that the palace-or hotel- is now a prison; and our own spiritual entropy sets in through neglect and essentially starvation. But the beast just gets stronger. that's my potted analysis (for today anyway!) of just that one couplet. I think one could write a whole thesis about this song, couldn't one?
I’m with you on the direction of the “master” of chambers interpretation, Jim. I’ve been to California a lot. And oddly, there’s always a sense that a greater ‘beast’ is looming: to your point—perhaps consumerism. Self satiation on a loop, perhaps? Either way, it’s puzzling in a good way. My friends and family have different interpretations.
Isn't it fascinating that they left the Hotel California for the US, and then wrote about the previous hotel from another hotel?! The Malibu hotel must have been miffed 😆
You’re right Nadine! Great point. Malibu probably was a little bit miffed. The account on Beverly Hills Hotel protesting their involuntary feature on the album cover was hilarious. Little did they know it brought in quite a bit of business! 😂 Was the Eagles a frequent band on your playlist or do you tend to listen to other genres as well? 🙌🏼
Wow. This is amazing. So much here. Do not know where to start. But look, this has me thinking and listening to the Eagles, to THIS song.
And while I am not a native Californian I have lived here for 35 years (not including 6 years in grad school earlier, before a dozen years adventure in Oregon) and have many thoughts about our state, its geography in particular, its places. But now I have to listen to the music again.
Yes, I definitely encourage a re-listen, Jack! You were in Santa Barbara for a time if I remember correctly? What were some of the popular records at the time when you were in grad school there? 🙌🏼
Love/d the Eagles. So much of their music could be (part of) the soundtrack to my life. Along w/ so many other great bands/songs of that time. I was living in SoCal at the time it came out and my boyfriend and I played it all the time along w/ Bonnie Raitt, Steely Dan, Leon Russell, Van Morrison, Linda Ronstadt, and more. There was a literal Hotel California in Santa Barbara, and one of the band had a girlfriend there, but you're right -- it's undefinable, ethereal. And it Is sad, borderline depressing.But we all still sing away!!! The surviving members are doing a tour this summer! You should catch it, Thalia. Great post btw.
Jeanine- I love your music taste! Van Morrison is a great one! Yes I love the conversation on which hotel is likely the real Hotel California—kind of like the conversation on who will be the next Bond! Beyond records, interesting isn’t it how much we relied on the radio back then? 📼
Thank you for taking all that time to delve into this timeless song and share your insightful thoughts with us. Your illustrations are outstandingly beautiful. I was 27 when the song came out and, of course, blown away by the sound. My imagination painted a picture of driving through the night and over the border to Baja California, Mexico. My interpretation of "You can check out anytime you like. But you can never leave," meant "checking out" on heroine. I only smoked weed; however, the prevalence of drugs was everywhere and definitely influenced my thinking. Right now, Hotel California is playing in my head, and I need to have a listen once more, this time from your perspective.
Sandy- You’re absolutely right about the possibility of that interpretation. No doubt there’s a thematic similarity there. Did you first listen to it on the radio? Curious how now music comes out on our phones and no longer the radio. And yes, definitely have a relisten while thumbing through the indices. It’d be interesting.
Yes, on the radio, then immediately buying the album and a cassette for the car! I hit Google to see the album cover again, and woah, you can quickly go down a rabbit hole about the lyrics.
The cassette is such a great thing! Remember rewinding it with our finger? And you’re right: the lyrics are boundless. Did you remember making mix tapes too? 📼
The summer of 1979, Gainesville Florida. My first rock concert, with the Eagles. 46 years ago and I still remember if well. The whole stadium was enraptured when they played Hotel California. That's my first memory whenever I hear the song. Two lines always stuck out for me. "You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave." I always took that to mean that the culture of that place would always draw you back. Decadence has a way of pulling you back towards it, even when you want to leave it behind. And "we haven't had that wine since 1969. Having been a wee lad in '69 I always took that line to be a reference to Woodstock and the summer of love and how that had been lost in the '70's. And of course the music itself. those guitar riffs are iconic. Like so many of that era by so many great musicians. Thanks for the trip down memory lane Thalia.
David—I love this personal reference. You might be onto something with Woodstock and the summer of love. I’ll never look at it the same way again now. Which venue did they play during that concert that you attended? It must’ve been quite epic! Were you able to see the stage close enough, David?
Florida Field on campus. I can’t remember where we sat but there wasn’t a bad seat in the stadium.
Ah yes! Desperado and Already Gone would’ve been in their setlist at that point?
I was so looking forward to reading this illustrated essay Thalia, and it delivered in spades. Firstly, thank you for the mention and quote. It's go gratifying when something in one's work can play even a small part in sparking a reaction in another writer....and when it's as good as this, so much the better. I did as suggested and listened as I scrolled through your beautiful images, and right there and then whole new dimensions and interpretations to the song seemed to appear.
I hadn't thought of the captain and the wine in a nautical context for some reason....but yes, it's all there to hear and see if we choose to. A ship of the desert.....another aspect to the journey, from internalised to external and back again. I am sure this is integral to the appeal across cultures and generations that we both have covered in our respective essays: we all take our own imagery and meaning, but that can even change in subsequent listening and engagement with the music.
Also you picked up on one more subtle but disquieting and somehow maybe dissonent aspect of the music, which is the chord progression and totally incongruous reggae rhythm to underpin a lyric which is in no way connected with that part of the world or its cultural references. But Henley and Frey were able to see the possibilities where most would say: "...wait a minute, nah, how can THAT ever work??". The musical structure of the record is a whole other piece in itself though.
And as to WHY that duelling guitar solo is also regarded as maybe the best - or certainly the most learnt and repeated - solo of all time? Well, I am sure there a hundred analyses on YT by various authorities on these things. By which I mean, "credentialled" musicians who pick it apart after-the-fact and try to explain to us proles why it is so truly great, as if we don't just know that instinctively. It don't take no experty-advice to recognise pure magic when one hears it. It's like trying to explain a rainbow. Who cares? It's a rainbow, and we never get tired of seeing one appear after a storm. It's just magic, a lighting bolt from the blue, musical and lyrical alchemy.
You’re so right about different interpretations on any text, Jim. I especially love your analogy on the rainbow.
Interestingly, my mind went straight to nautical with regard to the “Captain.” But to your point, it could be so much more. A pilot. A driver. A friend. A guide. A restaurant. Bartender. Whatever else.
I’ve long contended with verse 5 (one of my favorites). And every person I’ve asked has a different interpretation on what “the beast” meant. Curious to hear your take.
....and also: who is the "master" in his chambers, now you come to mention that verse? It's as if Don Henley is throwing out oblique clues and then throwing us off by taking another direction with the next verse isn't it?
I think I sort of alluded to my interpretation or sense of the writer's intent when I said something in my analysis about insatiable consumerism and consumption (gadgets, food, natural resources etc) or some similar wording. And I would enlarge on that by adding that maybe he means the inability to break free from the pattern as it takes on a life force of its own. In essence, the more we become enthralled by the consumerism palace, the less inclined we are to see that the palace-or hotel- is now a prison; and our own spiritual entropy sets in through neglect and essentially starvation. But the beast just gets stronger. that's my potted analysis (for today anyway!) of just that one couplet. I think one could write a whole thesis about this song, couldn't one?
I’m with you on the direction of the “master” of chambers interpretation, Jim. I’ve been to California a lot. And oddly, there’s always a sense that a greater ‘beast’ is looming: to your point—perhaps consumerism. Self satiation on a loop, perhaps? Either way, it’s puzzling in a good way. My friends and family have different interpretations.
Isn't it fascinating that they left the Hotel California for the US, and then wrote about the previous hotel from another hotel?! The Malibu hotel must have been miffed 😆
You’re right Nadine! Great point. Malibu probably was a little bit miffed. The account on Beverly Hills Hotel protesting their involuntary feature on the album cover was hilarious. Little did they know it brought in quite a bit of business! 😂 Was the Eagles a frequent band on your playlist or do you tend to listen to other genres as well? 🙌🏼
It wasn't a big one on my playlist, but who doesn't know this song?! It's a banger.
It totally is! 🙌🏼
Wow. This is amazing. So much here. Do not know where to start. But look, this has me thinking and listening to the Eagles, to THIS song.
And while I am not a native Californian I have lived here for 35 years (not including 6 years in grad school earlier, before a dozen years adventure in Oregon) and have many thoughts about our state, its geography in particular, its places. But now I have to listen to the music again.
Yes, I definitely encourage a re-listen, Jack! You were in Santa Barbara for a time if I remember correctly? What were some of the popular records at the time when you were in grad school there? 🙌🏼
Love/d the Eagles. So much of their music could be (part of) the soundtrack to my life. Along w/ so many other great bands/songs of that time. I was living in SoCal at the time it came out and my boyfriend and I played it all the time along w/ Bonnie Raitt, Steely Dan, Leon Russell, Van Morrison, Linda Ronstadt, and more. There was a literal Hotel California in Santa Barbara, and one of the band had a girlfriend there, but you're right -- it's undefinable, ethereal. And it Is sad, borderline depressing.But we all still sing away!!! The surviving members are doing a tour this summer! You should catch it, Thalia. Great post btw.
Jeanine- I love your music taste! Van Morrison is a great one! Yes I love the conversation on which hotel is likely the real Hotel California—kind of like the conversation on who will be the next Bond! Beyond records, interesting isn’t it how much we relied on the radio back then? 📼
Yes. A community collective.
I like all of your essays, but this is one of my favorites . It’s fun and fascinating! Thanks Thalia😎
Definitely one of mine as well, Rob. Glad you enjoyed it! 🤓
Now we know what to order for you at karaoke!
😂 Yes this and a slew of other hits for sure, Mark!
Good post. :) Thanks for that.
Glad you enjoyed it, Frank! 🙌🏼