The Eagles - Lying Eyes?

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davey

Senior Member
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Just been listening to one of my favourites bands and then it suddenly hit me - mysoginy - so did some research and sure enough they have been strongly accused of being a very mysogynistic singing band - although this may not reflect their personal personality traits??

history of the eagles
 

Just curious as to why misogyny came to mind when listening to them this time? Did it trigger a memory of things you'd heard about them being misogynistic in the past? Will this knowledge stop you from listening to them? Good band...too bad they have that rep. I love the live video of Hotel California. It is so disappointing to find out artists we like are a*ses!
 
I reviewed the lyrics, and while they paint a picture of some ugly choices in life I don't see the supposed misogyny here.

The young woman willingly prostitutes herself to a rich older man as a shortcut to comfort and status, then renegs on the deal as not giving her the intimate less tangible comforts she believes she's entitled to by lying about where she goes only to cheat with younger men she takes advantage of and dumps in serial fashion. Then she boozes it up to try to hide her shame from herself, regretting her choices but refusing to change her ways.

If anything I see a cautionary tale about the fruit of poor decisions born of selfish entitlement and weak morals.

And how does art define its artist?

Has somebody taken an overdose of MeToo or some other modern cultural toxin?

Edit: Never mind me. I woke up in the middle of the night and I'm cranky.
 

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I think one of the thrusts of the articles arguments is that over time and as a collection of various songs they do sound/or are mysoginistic? - I have collected their work for some time and always enjoyed it - I think in this more 'modern' world of mine/ours the ME movement is always on the look out for mysoginistic behaviours - far more than in my childhood days?
 
Mornin' @davey and all! 🌞 Kind of on the same topic... maybe not... but I think we need to remember the era that songs were released. Things were different in past decades (NOT saying they were good or right, but... yeah, different.) Okay, so case in point... at Christmastime, I listened closely to the words of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" for the first time. It's shocking and completely offensive through today's eyes... but I wonder if people "back then" even noticed? It's horrible!

At one point she even asked "say, what's in this drink?" She wants to leave and he's trying to hold her there against her will. But there have been many covers of that song over the years... and I don't understand why.

As for the Eagles... 🦅 reputation or not, I find nothing "wrong" with their songs... love their songs and have since the 70s.
 
Rock music was heavily male oriented, no one can deny it. That's the way it was. Focus on the male. His Freedoms, His Wants & Needs. We fought to make women part of the equation. Yes, Fought to break through.

I was there when women revolted against bringing them food as they were the ones who could be drafted, not us. That's how the women's movement of the sixties was born. Over food. Over WHO brings the food. I hope this lesson won't be forgotten.
 
Meaning Behind the Eagles' "Lyin' Eyes"

“We had some great times up there,” the drummer added. It was at that house that several of the band’s hits, including “One of These Nights,” “Take It to the Limit,” and “After the Thrill Is Gone,” were born. Also among those tunes was “Lyin’ Eyes.”

“Lyin’ Eyes” mirrors the splendors they beheld while living in that house while surrounded on all sides by such beauty. While a heart-wrenching song about searching and settling, the lyrics evoke images of late nights awash in bright city lights.

“Glenn’s pretty much responsible for that track and for the title, the choruses,” Henley mentioned. “I helped out with the verses and perhaps with the melody. It’s really Glenn’s baby.”

Of “Lyin’ Eyes,” the Eagles’ guitarist-vocalist Glenn Frey chimed in. “The story had always been there,” Frey added. The idea came to the band during their early days when they used to frequent their haunt of choice, Dan Tana’s, as told in their 1994 concert film, Hell Freezes Over. They had often had conversations about beautiful women who married for money, wondering if they were happy or not, but when they encountered one such woman at their local watering hole, Frey said, “Look at her, she can’t even hide those lyin’ eyes!”

Wow! How poetically beautiful, and perceptive …
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Just curious as to why misogyny came to mind when listening to them this time? Did it trigger a memory of things you'd heard about them being misogynistic in the past? Will this knowledge stop you from listening to them? Good band...too bad they have that rep. I love the live video of Hotel California. It is so disappointing to find out artists we like are a*ses!
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interesting question - wondered myself - maybe it it just when the pendulum swings to the other side and after so many experiences it swings over to the other side. I was brought up in a misogynous world for sure but it was more tolerated/accepted then. maybe when we strike a certain age - the pendulum swings/penny[dime] finally drops? I was as surprised as you maybe?
 

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