Interpretation of Eagles' Hotel California

The Eagles' Hotel California is an enormously popular and overall awesome song. I could listen to the Hell Freezes Over version a million times over and not get sick of it. The song invokes certain imagery in me; a magical place where you can see and feel and smell all the song describes.

But the song is about more than just imagery. One must know by listening to it that it is a metaphor, an extended series of symbols representing something else. There are all kinds of myths and theories out there: that the Eagles members were on drugs, were into Black Magic, all kinds of crazy stuff.

The most likely and believable theory is that the song is about the materialism and excess associated with California and making it big in Hollywood. It describes and gives the impression of the dark side of success and popularity.

Some interesting facts about the lyrics of the song:

1. The line "warm smell of colitas rising up through the air," is supposedly a reference to marijuana. “Colitas” in Spanish can be translated to "little buds."

2. Hotel California's lyrics came with the album. The line "she's got the Mercedes Bends" is spelled this way intentionally, as this portion of the song describes a woman who has sold herself out to wealthy men.

Hotel California is one of the Eagles' most popular songs, and has brought them loads of fame, success, and fortune. Listen to it yourself and you will understand why the song will never die.