Video lesson#10: Hotel California

It was about time to listen to the most famous Hotel song, don´t you think?

Originally released in 1976 is the most iconic song of The Eagles, that sold over 16 million copies in the U.S. alone and won a Grammy award in 1978.

It has some enigmatic lyrics that have lead to many theories about the meaning of this song. Is it about dead? Is it a bad trip from LSD or other hallucinogenic drug? Or is it about a small hotel in Pueblo Mágico de Todos los Santos (California) where the author, Don Henley, stayed for some days?

The authors have stated many times that it´s a song about the materialism and excess of the American culture of the 70´s but also “a journey from innocence to experience”.

Anyway,  to learn English with this song follow the usual steps:

1- Download the lyrics sheet, and go to page 1 where you will find the song´s lyrics with some missing words (gaps).

2- Click this video and listen to the song while you try to fill the gaps with the words that you hear. I recommend listening at least twice to the song.

3- Check your results going to page 2 where you will find the whole lyrics of the song.

4- Take a look at the vocabulary below to understand every word of the song.

5- Listen again to the song, without reading the lyrics and try to understand most of it.

Work sheet Hotel California Work Sheet

VOCABULARY

Desert: an area often covered with sand or rocks, where there is very little rain and not many plants. It´s different from the word Dessert which means “sweet food eaten at the end of the meal”

Highway: a public road, especially an important road that joins cities or towns together.

Colitas: in an interview the author, Don Felder, said that “is a plant that grows in the dessert that blooms at night, and it has a kind of pungent, almost funky smell”.  Actually, there is no plant by this name so it seems that it could be a cactus or an eucalyptus.

Shimmering light: a gentle light that seems to move slightly.

My head grew heavy: a way to say that someone is falling asleep so, in a figurative way his head is getting heavier.

My sight grew dim: when your eyes are dim you can´t see very well.

Doorway: the space in a wall where a door opens, or a covered area just outside a door.

Mission: similar to church.

Candle: a stick-shaped piece of wax with a string in the middle of it that produce light as it slowly burns.

Corridor: a long passage in a building or train, especially with rooms on either side.

Welcome: expression used to express that your are pleased that someone arrives to a place

Room: a place inside a building that is separated by walls, floor and ceiling. Also, the amount of space that someone or something needs.

Tiffany-twisted: game of words referred to Tiffany´s jewelry shop. It means that this woman loves luxury and wealth.

Courtyard: an area of flat ground outside that is partly or completely surrounded by the walls of a building

Captain: the leader of a sports team, or the person in charge of a ship or an aircraft. In this song it seems to be used as waiter.

Spirit: a particular way of thinking, feeling or behaving. Also the form of a death person similar to a ghost. And also a strong alcoholic drink. In this song it´s used with the three meanings at the same time.

To live it up: to have an exciting and very enjoyable time with parties, good food and drink, etc.

Alibis: an excuse for a failure, or a proof that someone hasn´t committed a crime.

Ceiling: the inside surface of a room that you can see when you look above you.

Device: an object or machine or a crafty scheme or trick. In this song it refers to how the people that live in this strange hotel they have tricked themselves to live in this prison.

Master´s chambers: a chamber is a room used for a special purpose or the office of someone in a important position. The master is a person who employs a servant or owns a slave. So in this song the master´s chamber is the most important room of the hotel where the master is.

To gather: to come together in a group.

Feast: a special meal with very good food for many people

Passage: a long and narrow part of a building with rooms on one or both sides, or a covered path that connects places

Night man: an overnight guard

To check out: to leave a hotel after paying and returning your room key.