Meaning behind the 1977 hit 'Hotel California'

By Omar SAYAGE

'Hotel California' by the Eagles hit the top of the hot 100 singles chart in May 1977. 1000000 records were shipped three months after the single was released and the band won the 1977 Record of the Year for 'Hotel California' at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards the following year. Additionally, The Rolling Stone magazine placed it as the 49th greatest song of all time.

'Hotel California' has been interpreted in numerous ways. The song speaks of a traveller who becomes trapped in a nightmarish luxury hotel, which was initially very inviting. Some say that it is a representation of the self-destructive Southern Californian music industry of the time. Others say it is about the life of a man through love, marriage, divorce and life after the divorce. Another view is that it is about a hotel that was converted into a Church of Satan in San Francisco. Then others claim the song is about a drug rehabilitation centre called 'Hotel California', or simply about addiction to Heroin.

Heroin is derived from opiates and is a depressant which attacks the neural functions. It numbs pain and anxiety but provides only short-term pleasure. The long-term effects of the drug are craving another hit, the need for higher doses and extreme withdrawal symptoms. Since heroin is an opiate, it eventually replaces the body's own natural opiates, so that the brain stops producing them. When the withdrawal symptoms kick-in, the brain has no opiates in reserve to use. As opiates are natural painkillers, this then means that it is extremely difficult to come off heroin. Ultimately, those who cannot get themselves off it, are likely to die of an overdose. Heroin and other opiate derivatives attack the central nervous system and cloud mental function. They basically take over the body and leave the person impaired - incapable of functioning normally.

In my personal opinion, Hotel California most likely about Heroin addiction because of the era that the song was written in. The lyrics also appear to relate to drug use and to some sort of addiction. The first line 'A dark desert highway' probably represents the highway of life that everyone travels along. The traveller in the songs arrives at a hotel that is welcoming and is guided in by a woman that 'lit up the candle and she showed me the way'. This woman shows the way in and represents the road to addiction.

The chorus, which is obviously repeated, reiterates that there is 'plenty of room at the Hotel California'. This can be interpreted as 'there are plenty more people who can walk into this addiction'. The refrain 'any time of year, you can find it here' means it is an easy place to walk into, or an easy addiction to get into. The song continues by talking about the sweetness of the hotel, of the addiction and the fun 'how they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat' and of the Captain who asks for his wine. The second chorus has this line 'they're livin' it up at the Hotel California'. The middle of the song is all about the joys of addiction, of the things which attract people to it.

The last part of the song is about the horrid aspects which follow, of the withdrawal symptoms and of the attempts to quit. The effects of withdrawal from heroin can last hours after the last hit.

Sudden withdrawal from the drug can be fatal, which makes it even harder to quit. The song mentions this with these words 'they stabbed it with their steely knives, but they just can't kill the beast'.

Heroin is the beast itself, since it is so hard to get it out of a person's system. The song finishes with the traveller trying to get 'to the place I was before' but is stopped by a night man who says 'you can check-out any time you like, but you can never leave'. The 'check out' signifies how the only way to escape Heroin's grip is through death by an overdose, since it is so hard to walk out of addiction to such a drug in the same way you came in.

There is enough evidence in the lyrics alone to suggest that this song is about Heroin addiction. Even if it is not about Heroin, then it is still likely to be about some sort of opiate and if not, then just about simple addiction. The song represents a traveler who comes across a luxury hotel that turns out to be a nightmare. The traveller represents any human, walking along the road of life; the song reminds us that we are all susceptible to the attraction of drugs and the short-term pleasures they bring, often leading to addiction. We can all be dazzled by superficial pleasures like the traveller, realizing too late the horrors of this luxurious 'hotel', which prove to be his demise.