The Meaning of Eagles’ "Hotel California": A Dark Allegory of the American Dream

A Latin-flavored riff developed into an allegorical masterpiece and the signature song for America’s band. Hotel California by Eagles became their signature song. It’s the psychological tale of a man- precariously caught in a disturbing asylum- from which... he may never escape. The iconic writers Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and Don Felder wanted the song to open like an episode of The Twilight Zone.. They wrote it about the dark underbelly of the American dream and they used the song to call out another popular band of the time. The song was so epic the two guitar players Joe Walsh and Don Felder wrote a solo side-by-side that took 3 days to finish. It’s a song that every band dreams of writing… a Song that is still as popular and perplexing as it was the day it came out… A song that has inspired a dozen theories of what it really means. A '70s classic. We find out the true meaning next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .