The Eagles have made many songs that have changed and shaped the genre of rock and that listeners have loved and cherished. These songs have different meanings in them that are all interpreted differently. “Hotel California” is one song that seemed to have many different meanings and interpretations to it.

“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,” reflects on a drowsy traveler who needs to rest from a long drive. This sleepy traveler is also under the influence of marijuana because of the smell of “colitas” (which is another name for the cannabis plant) is “rising up through the air”. The dangerous driver crashes into the “shimmering light”, or the oncoming car, and dies. The song title, “Hotel California”, seems to be a place between Heaven and Hell where the driver goes after his death. Even though the place seems very nice at first, “mirrors on the ceiling” hints that someone or God is still watching him from up above. “There she stood in the doorway/ then she lit up a candle and showed me the way” tells the listener that this woman is guiding the driver to the “hotel” which will be his final resting place. He seems to recognize the woman as a “tiffany-twisted” girl with “many boys she calls friends” which could be interpreted as a spoiled or rich girl who had many boyfriends. The driver admired this girl because he keeps recalling her “pretty face”. “We’re all just prisoners here, of our own device” refers to how everyone trapped in this world caused their own death. The driver discovers that there is no escape in this world through the “night man” saying “You can check out anytime you like, / but you can never leave”.

“Hotel California” uses many different metaphors which makes this song very unique and interesting. The Eagles created a song that uses a driver that falls asleep at the wheel and dies.