Hotel California
This song has one of the most recognized lyrics ever in rock music history a lot of people tried finding out the true meaning behind these lyrics, therefore there has been a lot of opinions and interpretations regarding it's meaning some have said that it's about satanism and religion other's said it's about the corruption in the music industry and others said it is about the city Los Angeles. But the way i have read and understood the text I find that it has two meanings one which is literal and the other which is the deeper meaning.
Literal meaning : a lone driver is riding through a dark desert highway he's growing tired and has to rest for the night a hotel comes up in the distance it seems like a normal hotel so he checks in, but later things start to get clearer as he starts seeing things how they really are and start to hallucinate and hear voices he finds out that this place is a cult gathering and is ruled by a beast that makes everyone in the hotel his followers. This man sees how the people in this place are not themselves anymore, he finally tries to escape but he can't.
Deeper meaning : an addicted person is put in a rehabilitation center he's regretting his past life choices, he sees other patients and addicts in the center who also made the mistake of using drugs he explains to us how some of them took drugs to forget their suffering and how others took drugs to feel good and escape from their life and responsibilities. This person also explains to us how this place is filled with corruption and that he sees the staff that work in this place use drugs and drink alcohol as they want , he tries to escape this place but he can't.
•simile :
Nothing found
•Metaphor :
"And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast"
This is a comparison that the writer used to compare the owner of this hotel or this place "master" to a beast, to my understanding he's trying to explain to us how corrupt and evil this person is.
•Personification :
"Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face."
In this line the writer is trying to make a place " hotel California " look like a person by saying it has a lovely face while in real life only a living being can have a face.
•Apostrophe :
Nothing found.
•Analogy :
"Some dance to remember, some dance to forget" this writer here is showing us two kinds of of people in this place the first kind is the one that is trying to remember his better past and better self the other kind is the one that is trying to forget by dancing.
This line could also be referring to why people start taking drugs in the first place some of them to forget their suffering or some of them to feel happy and remember the good times.
•Paradox :
"This could be heaven or this could be hell" the two words that oppose each other's in this line are heaven and hell.
"Some dance to remember, some dance to forget" the two words that oppose each other are remember and forget.
•Pun :
"Mirrors on the ceiling"
This line has a metaphorical meaning that symbolizes a distorted reflection of one's self
"The pink champagne on ice"
This line is representing luxury and good feeling
"we are all just prisoners here, of our own device"
This line also has another meaning which says that everyone here has a flaw or something they are here to remove or escape from.
"They stab it with their steely knives,But they just can't kill the beast"
I also think this line could have another meaning which is that these people staying in this place are trying to use drugs in this case methamphetamine via syringes and stab themselves to kill the urge of addiction but they can't get satisfaction since they are very far and deep in the hole of addiction.
"I had to find the passage back to the place I was before"
this line also has another meaning the writer saw how people are suffering and can't get rid of their addiction so he is trying to escape back to his normal life before he got into drugs.
"The voices calling far away"
This has another meaning which is the desire and need for drugs is calling this person to use it and he's unable to stop from craving this addiction.
"Tiffany twisted"
The meaning behind this line is that this person is a materialistic person who is driven and used by jewelry.
•Hyperbole :
"This could be heaven or this could be hell" this is an exaggeration use of the two words heaven and hell the writer here is trying to make us see how this situation can be good as when we are in heaven or how it could be bad as when we are in heaven
•Irony :
Nothing found
•Reference :
"I heard the mission bell"
this is a reference to a place of worship and salvation this means that the hotel that the singer is talking about in the lyrics of this song is actually not a hotel but rather a place where someone might find his salvation from something and in this case the writer of the song is referring to salvation from a drug of some sort
"He said, 'we haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty-nine"
This could be a reference to a lot of things since this year had so many interesting things about such as the moon landing but after looking up the year 1969 and why is a relevant year that was used in a lot of songs this could be a reference to when Anno Domini represented the “free love” era that culminated in Woodstock, New York, August 15–19, 1969, which was a very profound event for the post-World War 2 world.
"Tiffany twisted" a reference to the jewelry store chain called Tiffany.