Category: Let's talk
This really came as a surprise to me!
The Legend
The Eagles song "Hotel California" is about a real Hotel California in Baja California. The Eagles stayed there, wrote music there, they spent money, did drugs, and fooled around with tons of women they didn't remember the next day there. All of the partying, the air of hedonism and monetary excess, made them feel a little uneasy after a while. The song is a warnings to other young artists not to fall into the same trap.
Behind the Legend
Eagles member Don Henley put the rumor about a real "Hotel California" to rest during an interview. "I don't know where people get the idea that there is a real Hotel California," said Henley. "We made the whole thing up as a symbol. The song's just about Satanism. I don't know why people have to twist its meaning all up."
That the song is about the Church of Satan is obvious from both the lyrics and the Hotel California album cover. Consider the following:
The Eagles were well-known Satan worshippers.
"The Eagles" can be rearranged to spell "gales (of) heet," meaning the winds of hell.
An old Christian church in California was abandoned in 1969 and taken over by the Church of Satan. It is this church that is referred to by the lyrics, "We haven't had the spirit here since 1969," and "This could be Heaven, this could be Hell."
It is in this church that Anton LeVey (referred to as "the master" in the song) wrote The Satanic Bible, and because he let his followers stay there while he was writing, it became known as the Hotel California.
The lyric, "They stab it with their steely knives, but they just can't kill the Beast," refers to the enduring power of Satan.
Members of the Church of Satan often have to lie about their membership (just as they are encouraged to lie as a matter of course), and this is referred to in the lyric, "What a nice surprise, bring your alibis."
Church of Satan members take an oath that is binding even after their death, hence the lyrics, "You can check out at any time you like, but you can never leave" and "We are all just prisoners here of our own device."
On the Hotel California album jacket, High Priest of the Church of Satan Anton LeVey appears in one of the windows.
On the back of the album cover a dead man -- sacrificed by LeVey himself -- is shown propped up by a mop.
The Hotel California album was a best seller, which it couldn't have been without help from the forces of darkness.
Truly, any non-Satanic interpretation is disingenuous at best.
This is all slanderous bullshit...100 per cent of it is shit.
Now, I see you are a "newborn zoner." Well new zoner, why would you come on these boards and spread such trash?
Just asking. Is it for attention?
Um... he said it is an Urban legend, and he can post what he chooses to. That is the freedom of speech.
The Eagles were one of my favorite bands in the 1970's. Sometimes their lyrics did come off as a bit pompous, but they're the artists. Tell me, mouse6687, who are people supposed to listen to for entertainment then? Are you some sort of evangelical whacko who only wants us to listen to "righteous" music, whatever the hell that is?
I played an Amy Grant song backwards once and could have sworn I heard her say "Satan is great, yeah, yeah, yeah"...
Lol. I'm all for fredom of speech but what is it with this crap?
The eagles were a fine band.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy The Eagles whole heartedly! I'm far from a bible thumper. People crack me up when they get irate about ones posting or view points. This was meerly an article I found interesting and reposted here for peoples entertainment! I have a very ecclectic taste in music and life. Oh, And I'm pretty sure I heard Tammy Faye Baker say " All Hail Satan" on a track I played backwards on her Christmas album!
The Eagles are still a fine band. Why wouldn't they be even if they were a Satanic band? Why is it that people find Satanism as a terrible religion? It's just another religion. Of course people are going to think other religions other than their own are bad. I say practice what you want, just don't force it upon others. I do feel there is something out there, just not sure of what....yet!
P.S. I'm a girl! :)
Also I'm not really all that new! Been on here for about a year and a half!
THANKS!
uh...wow...you sure showed us...rofl.
Interesting article, mous. Thank you for posting it. Out of interest only, it would be nice to know where the sources for that article came from. I.E it's all very well the author of that article saying that, but where's the proof? Which particular interview did Don Henley say what he did? Where does it say that the Eagles were satanists? Not bashing, just asking. Either way, interesting interpretation of a good song.
Huh. Yeah, no kidding that it's interesting, and I'd like to know the sources too.
I'm also very interested. I never even thought of it that way, but that's probably because I know nothing of Satanism. But I love stories about music. Here's another one. In the song Roller Coaster by the Ohio Players, there's a scream that can clearly be heard in the song. The legend goes that it was someone being murdered in the studio. Apparently, it was a model who had a fall-out with the manager of the group. I heard it on VH1 awhile ago. However, the band denies the rumour.
Here is a link to that Roller Coaster Myth!
http://www.snopes.com/music/hidden/roller.asp
lol, the boards just say you're a newborn zoner, doesn't mean taht you're really a newborn zoner, dumbass, lmao. but yeah mouse, that really is an interesting article. wow, i never knew taht and stuff. i mean, it's not tht i relal believe it, but still, what if it's true, it's still a bit freaky, lol :P
I've heard that rolercoaster myth.
And, who's a dumb ass?
Hahaha, interesting. Never heard that one before!
Actually, I heard a version of that myth...something about the woman screaming because she spilled hot wax on herself or something.
Wierd.