這是老鷹合唱團 (The Eagles) 的超級名曲，多年前聽到時就很著迷，此次將歌詞整理一遍，不禁懷念起那段年少時光。

這首歌的內容有些晦澀之處，樂隊主唱 Don Henley 曾經解釋 Hotel California 是描述他們對洛杉磯上流社會的看法，歌詞實際是影射美國的浮誇生活，並非只針對加州。

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
黑暗的沙漠高速公路上，冷風吹過我的髮際

Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
小尾巴花散發溫熱的氣味，飄揚在空氣中

Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
在前方遙遠之處，我看到微光閃爍

My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
我腦袋沉重不已，視線變得模糊

I had to stop for the night
我必須停留一晚

There she stood in the doorway
她站在門口

I heard the mission bell
我聽到教堂鐘聲響起

And I was thinking to myself,
我當時在想

This could be Heaven or this could be Hell
這裡可能是天堂，也可能地獄

Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
她點亮一根蠟燭，幫我帶路

There were voices down the corridor
走廊盡頭傳來一些聲音

I thought I heard them say…
我想他們是說…

Welcome to the Hotel California
歡迎來到加州旅館

Such a lovely place
如此美好的地方

Such a lovely face
多麼親切的臉孔

Plenty of room at the Hotel California
加州旅館不缺房間

Any time of year, you can find it here
一年到頭，你隨時都可來玩

Her mind is tiffany-twisted, she got the mercedes bends
她迷戀帝芬妮，擁有賓士轎車

She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
她身旁有眾多稱為朋友的俊美男人

How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
他們在庭院跳舞，流著甜美的夏日汗水

Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
有人跳舞是為了喚起記憶，有人跳舞卻是為了遺忘過去

So I called up the captain, please bring me my wine
所以我叫了領班，請他把我的酒拿來

He said,  we haven t had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine
他說，1969 年之後我們就沒提供那種烈酒了

And still those voices are calling from far away
那些聲音仍舊不斷從遠方傳來

Wake you up in the middle of the night
在深夜裡將你驚醒

Just to hear them say…
我只聽到他們說…

Welcome to the Hotel California
歡迎來到加州旅館

Such a lovely place
如此美好的地方

Such a lovely face
多麼親切的臉孔

They’re livin’ it up at the Hotel California
他們正在加州旅館尋歡作樂

What a nice surprise, bring your alibis
真是令人驚喜，別忘了找點藉口

Mirrors on the ceiling,
天花板鑲有鏡子

The pink champagne on ice
紅粉香檳冰鎮著

And she said  we are all just prisoners here, of our own device
她說，我們都是自願成為這裡的囚犯

And in the master’s chambers
在主人的接待室裡

They gathered for the feast
他們聚集享受盛宴

They stab it with their steely knives
他們手拿鋼刀戳刺獵物

But they just can’t kill the beast
他們卻無法殺死那頭野獸

Last thing I remember, I was running for the door
我記得最後，我衝向門口

I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
我得尋找來時路，回到我以前的地方

Relax, said the nightman
清廁夫說，別緊張

We are programed to receive
我們是命定來享受的

You can check out any time you like,
你隨時都可以退房

But you can never leave!
不過，你永遠都離不開這裡！

這首歌有幾點值得討論：

“Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air”

英文單字 “Colitas” 到底指什麼? 最多的解釋如下，許多老美認為是指「大麻」(marijuana)。

Enough of these distractions. By and by a denizen of soc.culture.spain wrote: “Colitas is little tails, but here the author is referring to ‘colas,’ the tip of a marijuana branch, where it is more potent and with more sap (said to be the best part of the leaves).” We knew with an instant shock of certainty that this was the correct interpretation. The Eagles, with the prescience given only to true artists, were touting the virtues of high-quality industrial hemp! And to think some people thought this song was about drugs.
【出處】The Straight Dope http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1053/in-the-song-hotel-california-what-does-colitas-mean

“He said,  we haven t had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine”

英文單字 “spirit” 可指「精神、靈魂」，亦可指「烈酒」。在這首歌中，spirit 是雙關語，代表那群住在 hotel california 從 1969 年起過著糜爛的生活，猶如行屍走肉。根據 Don Henley 的解釋，spirit 的確是有隱射的意義 (sociopolitical statement)。請看下面解釋：

In a 2009 interview, Plain Dealer music critic John Soeder asked Don Henley this about the lyrics:

On “Hotel California,” you sing: “So I called up the captain / ‘Please bring me my wine’ / He said, ‘We haven’t had that spirit here since 1969.’” I realize I’m probably not the first to bring this to your attention, but wine isn’t a spirit. Wine is fermented; spirits are distilled. Do you regret that lyric?

Henley responded,
“Thanks for the tutorial and, no, you’re not the first to bring this to my attention—and you’re not the first to completely misinterpret the lyric and miss the metaphor. Believe me, I’ve consumed enough alcoholic beverages in my time to know how they are made and what the proper nomenclature is. But that line in the song has little or nothing to do with alcoholic beverages. It’s a sociopolitical statement. My only regret would be having to explain it in detail to you, which would defeat the purpose of using literary devices in songwriting and lower the discussion to some silly and irrelevant argument about chemical processes.”
【出處】Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_California_(song)

“Her mind is tiffany-twisted, she got the mercedes bends”

a. twist = peculiar tendency in a person’s mind and character 偏執
tiffany-twisted = an abnormal condition with reference to the girl’s materialism, underscored by her apparent obsession with Tiffany’s, the high-end jewelry store. 迷戀帝芬妮

b. mercedes bends
賓士轎車是 Mercedes Benz，”The bends” 在口語中是指「潛函病」 (深海潛水員因浮出水面太快而感到關節劇痛以及呼吸困難的症狀)，填詞者此處玩弄雙關語 (benz 聽起來像 =bends)，暗指女孩應門時跑得氣喘呼呼。請參照下面的解釋：

“Mercedes Benz” - I think this is a pun on “the bends” - the euphoric feeling that one gets when returning to the surface too quickly (when diving). In this case, I believe it to mean that she has had to come round too quickly from her trip to answer the door when the traveler arrives. I do like the theory that the Mercedes Benz reference is somehow linked to Janis Joplin (because of her famous “Mercedes Benz” song).

“They’re livin’ it up at the Hotel California”

live it up = live in a lively and extravagant way 過享樂的生活。

“What a nice surprise, bring your alibis”

alibis 的意思是「辯解, 託辭」，指要為自己找個藉口來享樂。

“They stab it with their steely knives But they just can’t kill the beast”

這可能是暗指人用刀來刺殺心魔 (耽溺於享樂的惰性)，結果是徒勞無功。

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