Hotel California

[Abenadar]

Does anybody really know what this song is about?

Also, the reason I’m asking this in the traditional forum is because I’m wondering if there is a reference to Vatican II in this song when he says "So I called up the captain / ‘please bring me my wine’ / he said ‘we haven’t had that spirit here since 1969’ ???

Does anybody know if this has anything to do with the suppression of the TLM and the beginning of the new Mass starting November 30, 1969?

Thanks.

 

[PatriceA]

From everything I’ve ever read on the internet, both Glenn Fry and Don Henley have said in interviews as recently 2007, that the song is nothing more than about the excess of the life in Los Angeles at the time and the dark side of the American dream. They said its kinda boring but love the theories that surround the song.

 

[Chatter163]

You do know that one of the meanings of spirit is wine, don’t you?

 

[damooster]

From everything I’ve ever read on the internet, both Glenn Fry and Don Henley have said in interviews as recently 2007, that the song is nothing more than about the excess of the life in Los Angeles at the time and the dark side of the American dream. They said its kinda boring but love the theories that surround the song.

+1. They even take a swipe at Steely Dan in this song.

 

[LilyM]

Does anybody really know what this song is about?

Also, the reason I’m asking this in the traditional forum is because I’m wondering if there is a reference to Vatican II in this song when he says "So I called up the captain / ‘please bring me my wine’ / he said ‘we haven’t had that spirit here since 1969’ ???

Does anybody know if this has anything to do with the suppression of the TLM and the beginning of the new Mass starting November 30, 1969?

Thanks.

Doubt it. ‘That spirit’ could equally mean the whole sex-drugs (including alcohol) -rock’n’roll ‘spirit’ of the era of Woodstock, which also happened in 1969.

 

[PatriceA]

+1. They even take a swipe at Steely Dan in this song.

Fry or Henley said they had been listening to Steely Dan before they sat down to write the album and wanted to write in a similar manner.

 

[Abenadar]

You do know that one of the meanings of spirit is wine, don’t you?

Actually, I don’t think wine is considered a “spirit”…I’ll have to look that up. Anyway, thanks for all the replies. I think I must have an active imagination…

 

[PatriceA]

Actually, I don’t think wine is considered a “spirit”…I’ll have to look that up. Anyway, thanks for all the replies. I think I must have an active imagination…

It absolutely does, it refers to how the alcohol is distilled and fermented.

 

[LilyM]

Actually, I don’t think wine is considered a “spirit”…I’ll have to look that up. Anyway, thanks for all the replies. I think I must have an active imagination…

‘Spirit’ can, it seems, be used more generically to refer to any alcohol.

From thefreedictionary.com/spirit:

“14. spirits - An alcoholic beverage, especially distilled liquor.”

 

[Abenadar]

It absolutely does, it refers to how the alcohol is distilled and fermented.

That’s what I mean…I thought spirits were distilled and wines were fermented. That’s why liquor stores always say “Beer, wine, and spirits” and clearly differentiate between the three…I guess that’s redundant then. Maybe they should just say “sprits, spirits, and more spirits!” Maybe they should just say “alcoholic beverages”. Hmmm.

 

[PatriceA]

That’s what I mean…I thought spirits were distilled and wines were fermented. That’s why liquor stores always say “Beer, wine, and spirits” and clearly differentiate between the three…I guess that’s redundant then. Maybe they should just say “sprits, spirits, and more spirits!” Maybe they should just say “alcoholic beverages”. Hmmm.

Except Sherry is considered part of the wine family, but has “spirits” added to it.

And I highly doubt the Eagles were trying to be this distinct and literal when they sat down to write a song.

 

[teadough]

check this:thumbsup:

snopes.com/music/songs/hotel.asp

 

[dominicandinah]

Does anybody really know what this song is about?

Also, the reason I’m asking this in the traditional forum is because I’m wondering if there is a reference to Vatican II in this song when he says "So I called up the captain / ‘please bring me my wine’ / he said ‘we haven’t had that spirit here since 1969’ ???

Does anybody know if this has anything to do with the suppression of the TLM and the beginning of the new Mass starting November 30, 1969?

Thanks.

I’ve heard that not only is it about the excesses of life in the fast lane (okay, big pun on another Eagles’ song), but it’s more specifically about a well-hidden brothel in the desert. I’ve also heard that it was about a cult that was out in the desert…but this thinking goes along with Michael H. Brown’s comments about it in either “The Final Hour” or “Trumpet of Gabriel”…can’t remember which one, but he (Brown) was quick to point out the “spirit” was that of a demon; given the summer of 69 had Manson running around Southern California killing people.

I’m more inclined to go with the excesses of life and a bordello/brothel theme in the song.

 

[peary]

Does anybody really know what this song is about?

Also, the reason I’m asking this in the traditional forum is because I’m wondering if there is a reference to Vatican II in this song when he says "So I called up the captain / ‘please bring me my wine’ / he said ‘we haven’t had that spirit here since 1969’ ???

Does anybody know if this has anything to do with the suppression of the TLM and the beginning of the new Mass starting November 30, 1969?

Thanks.

This is from the ‘official’ *Hotel California *website:

The hotel on the album cover is the Beverly Hills Hotel, known as the Pink Palace. It is often frequented by Hollywood stars. Read about the song’s meaning here:

songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1121

It has nothing to do with Vatican II or the Church.

 

[SpiritusSanctus]

What this song is really a refference to is quite scary. If you look it up, they are reffering to, unfortunetly, the church of Satan. The line “You can check in, but you can never check out” says it all right there. What do you think they really mean by “spirits”? Look it up before replying to my post if you don’t believe me.

 

[mini_me640]

What this song is really a refference to is quite scary. If you look it up, they are reffering to, unfortunetly, the church of Satan. The line “You can check in, but you can never check out” says it all right there. What do you think they really mean by “spirits”? Look it up before replying to my post if you don’t believe me.

Ummm…if you look it up, it’s not about the church of Satan. Just because a few crazy people have come up with a theory doesn’t make it’s true. BTW The line you misquoted is actually “You can check OUT any time you want, but you can never leave”. According to the snopes.com link another poster offered, the song is about the hedonism and greed that were so prevelant in southern California in the early 70s. One of the Eagles, Don Henley, said of the song, it “sort of captured the zeitgeist of the time, which was a time of great excess in this country and in the music business in particular”.

 

[SpiritusSanctus]

Ummm…if you look it up, it’s not about the church of Satan. Just because a few crazy people have come up with a theory doesn’t make it’s true. BTW The line you misquoted is actually “You can check OUT any time you want, but you can never leave”. According to the snopes.com link another poster offered, the song is about the hedonism and greed that were so prevelant in southern California in the early 70s. One of the Eagles, Don Henley, said of the song, it “sort of captured the zeitgeist of the time, which was a time of great excess in this country and in the music business in particular”.

Well, I apologize for not getting that line right. However, I have looked it up. It’s not a theory. It’s true. It’s actually something you’d come to expect from bands back then. Several songs from then had “hidden messages” in them, just like this song. Do you really think Don Henley or any of them will admit what it’s really about?

 

[PatriceA]

What this song is really a refference to is quite scary. If you look it up, they are reffering to, unfortunetly, the church of Satan. The line “You can check in, but you can never check out” says it all right there. What do you think they really mean by “spirits”? Look it up before replying to my post if you don’t believe me.

Look it up where? What is the source you used?

I think several of us have researched it extensively online and nothing has pointed to this song being about the church of satan.

And did you read any of the comments before you posted yours?

 

[Timothysis]

Well, I apologize for not getting that line right. However, I have looked it up. It’s not a theory. It’s true. It’s actually something you’d come to expect from bands back then. Several songs from then had “hidden messages” in them, just like this song. Do you really think Don Henley or any of them will admit what it’s really about?

You don’t even get the line correct, yet you declare “its true!”

Don’t let the facts get in the way!

Priceless.

 

[Oldtimer_7]

It seems to be more logical to accept that even rock stars might have had some pangs of conscience about the the hedonistic lifestyle of the seventies than that they were knowledgeable of the symbolism of both Catholicism and Satanism. I recall a graffito that said “worship Satin.” I doubt that it was written by a fashionista.

I can understand one of the reasons why I liked the song, as it was a take-off on Steely Dan, who I also enjoyed even more than the Eagles.