Hotel California- HUH?

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

SF VIP
Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
The tune may be great, but the lyrics???? Some song lyrics really are unfathomable. Take "Hotel California". Great Song. But what do the lyrics really mean? Are song lyrics an intricate poetic design, or a design the lyricist noticed on toilet tissue?
 

A haunted hotel. Where bad memories go to stay? Who knows.

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!'
 
You don't have to understand the lyrics of a song in order to like it.

For example:

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
Threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People call say 'beware doll, you're bound to fall'
You thought they were all kidding you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hanging out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging your next meal
How does it feel, how does it feel?
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone

Ahh you've gone to the finest schools, alright Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
Nobody's ever taught you how to live out on the street
And now you're gonna have to get used to it
You say you never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And say do you want to make a deal?
How does it feel, how does it feel?
To be on your own, with no direction home
A complete unknown, like a rolling stone
Ah you never turned around to see the frowns
On the jugglers and the clowns when they all did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on a chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discovered that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal
How does it feel, how does it feel?
To have on your own, with no direction home
Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone
Ahh princess on a steeple and all the pretty people
They're all drinking, thinking that they've got it made
Exchanging all precious gifts
But you better take your diamond ring, you better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him he calls you, you can't refuse
When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you've got no secrets to conceal
How does it feel, ah how does it feel?
To be on your own, with no direction home
Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone
 
And then there are some songs where the lyrics are easy to understand.


Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
It was mine before I met you
It was mine before I'd let you
Come closer and hold it and know it
The way that you once knew me
It was mine before you knew me
It was mine before you'd choose me
And use me and lose me, refuse me
The way you're now refusing to

Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
It was mine before I'd see you
It was mine before I believed you
When you said: " I need you. "
It seems that you were just throwing me a bone
It was mine before you found me
It was mine before you'd hound me
And bound me and ground me and pound me
Like a stray with no way home
Oh, just like a dirty stray dog with no way home

Come on, girl, you've gotta give me some credit
It was mine before you'd go get it
And pet it and let it run
When you threw the d*** thing its ball
And it was mine before you liked me
It was mine before you tried me
Lied to me and tried to deny
That you ever loved me at all, yes yes
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog
Gimme back my dog, yeah (etc.)

 
Great tune

Greater lyrics

Explain the lyrics?
Can’t

But I can identify with them

Been there
But it was south of the border

…..and now it’s in my head, stuck
 
"It's basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America, which is something we knew a lot about,” Henley said in a 2002 interview with "60 Minutes."

And there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth.

Which still leaves us with the question.
 
I think it's a series of metaphors about drug addiction. At first it's hypnotic and soothing (draws you in like a candle in the night or a beautiful woman). Then finally it's got you in a stranglehold. The steely knifes could be a metaphor for needles. You can check out (enter rehab, perhaps) but you can never leave (you will always be an addict.)
 
CarolfromTX said:
I think it's a series of metaphors about drug addiction. At first it's hypnotic and soothing (draws you in like a candle in the night or a beautiful woman). Then finally it's got you in a stranglehold. The steely knifes could be a metaphor for needles. You can check out (enter rehab, perhaps) but you can never leave (you will always be an addict.)[/QUOTE]

By jove, I think you have it there!
Click to expand...
 
"Turning Japanese"

I've got your picture of me and you
You wrote, "I love you," I wrote "Me, too"
I sit there staring and there's nothing else to do
Oh, it's in color, your hair is brown
Your eyes are hazel and soft as clouds
I often kiss you when there's no one else around

I've got your picture, I've got your picture
I'd like a million of them all round my cell
I want the doctor to take your picture
So I can look at you from inside as well
You've got me turning up and turning down
And turning in and turning 'round

I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so

I've got your picture, I've got your picture
I'd like a million of them all round my cell
I want a doctor to take your picture
So I can look at you from inside as well
You got me turning up and turning down
I'm turning in, I'm turning round

I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so

I've got your picture, I've got your picture
I'd like a million of them all round myself
I want a doctor to take a picture
So I can look at you from inside as well
You got me turning up and turning down
I'm turning in, I'm turning round

I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so

No sex, no drugs, no wine, no women, no fun, no sin, no you, no wonder it's dark
Everyone around me is a total stranger
Everyone avoids me like a cyclone ranger
Everyone

That's why I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so

Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
Think so, think so, think so
Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so


(Have no idea what this is about)
 
CarolfromTX said:
I think it's a series of metaphors about drug addiction. At first it's hypnotic and soothing (draws you in like a candle in the night or a beautiful woman). Then finally it's got you in a stranglehold. The steely knifes could be a metaphor for needles. You can check out (enter rehab, perhaps) but you can never leave (you will always be an addict.)
Click to expand...

Absolutely makes sense!
 
Several years ago I dined at the Hotel California. It is not in California but rather in Cabo San Lucas.
It was cool only for the mystique of being there.
On a side note, this post just might be my first contribution to this forum that doesn't involve music videos! :D
 
Try this one!
I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly
I'm crying
Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come
Corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday
Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob.
Mister City Policeman sitting pretty little policemen in a row
See how they fly like Lucy in the Sky, see how they run
I'm crying, I'm crying
I'm crying, I'm crying
Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye
Lyrics continue below


​



















Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess
Boy, you been a naughty girl you let your knickers down
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob
Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun
If the sun don't come, you get a tan from standing in the English rain
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob
Expert textpert choking smokers don't you thing the joker laughs at you?
See how they smile like pigs in a sty, see how they snied
I'm crying
Semolina pilchard, climbing up the Eiffel Tower
Elementary penguin singing Hari Krishna
Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob
Goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob g'goo...

Song Discussions is protected by U.S. Patent 9401941. Other patents pending.

Copyright:
Writer(s): Paul Mccartney, John Lennon




Read more: The Beatles - I Am The Walrus Lyrics | MetroLyrics
 
Furryanimal said:
Try this one!
I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly
I'm crying
Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come
Corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday
Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob.
Mister City Policeman sitting pretty little policemen in a row
See how they fly like Lucy in the Sky, see how they run
I'm crying, I'm crying
I'm crying, I'm crying
Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye
Lyrics continue below


​



















Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess
Boy, you been a naughty girl you let your knickers down
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob
Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun
If the sun don't come, you get a tan from standing in the English rain
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob
Expert textpert choking smokers don't you thing the joker laughs at you?
See how they smile like pigs in a sty, see how they snied
I'm crying
Semolina pilchard, climbing up the Eiffel Tower
Elementary penguin singing Hari Krishna
Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen
I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob
Goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob g'goo...

Song Discussions is protected by U.S. Patent 9401941. Other patents pending.

Copyright:
Writer(s): Paul Mccartney, John Lennon




Read more: The Beatles - I Am The Walrus Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Click to expand...

The first record I ever bought (45rpm) was Hello Goodbye. The flip side of that record was "I Am the Walrus"...I immediately fell in love with "Walrus"....
although it was many years later that I somewhat understood what drugs do to the human mind.. It was cool then...not so much now.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top