On the surface, the song tells the story of a weary traveler who becomes trapped in a nightmarish hotel that at first appeared inviting and tempting. It is kind of like a scene from a s[r]
(1)
Before listening
I. Discuss with your partner
1 Have you ever heard this song? Do you know who sings it?
3 What you know about this band?
4 Does the Hotel described in the song really exist?
II. From the words in bold in the lyrics, find the proper one that matches the following definitions
1 Room An illness
2 Church Not straight
3 To pay the bill when you leave a hotel Not clear
4 A desert flower 10 Hall
5 A very big meal
6 Can be an alcoholic drink or a ghost While listening
III Listen and fill in the blanks with the verbs in the box You have to change them into the past form Some of them are used twice or more
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair Welcome to the Hotel California Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air such a lovely place (x2), such a lovely face
Up ahead in the distance, I _ a shimmering light They livin' it up at the Hotel California
My head _ heavy and my sight _ dim What a nice surprise, bring your alibis
I _to stop for the night
There she _ in the doorway; Mirrors on the ceiling
I _ the mission bell The pink champagne on ice
I _ thinking to myself: And she _: "We are all
just
"This _ be Heaven or this _ be Hell" prisoners here of our own device.” Then she _ up a candle,
and she me the way And in the master's chambers
There _ voices down the corridor They for the feast I _ I _ them say: They stab it with their steely knives,
But they can’t just kill the beast
Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place (x2), such a
lovely face Last thing I remember, I _
Plenty of room at the Hotel California Running for the door
Any time of year, you can find it here I _ to find the passage back
To the place I _ before Her mind is Tiffany-twisted; she's got the Mercedes bends “Relax,” said the night man
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys that she calls friends “We are programmed to receive How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat, You can check out any time you
like, But you can never leave.”
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
So I _up the Captain: "Please bring me my wine."
He _, "We haven't had that spirit
(2)Here since nineteen sixty nine."
And still those voices are calling from far away; Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say… After listening
IV. Read this paragraph and then choose the best answers.
This is a song from the late 1970’s by The Eagles It is very hard to explain.The lyrics describe the title establishment as a luxury resort where "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave."
On the surface, the song tells the story of a weary traveler who becomes trapped in a nightmarish hotel that at first appeared inviting and tempting It is kind of like a scene from a strange dream The man is walking down a dark desert highway The wind is blowing around him The warm smell of a flower, colitas, is in the air Up ahead he sees a hotel He starts to feel tired A beautiful woman is standing in a doorway of the hotel He enters, and then gets trapped inside People are dancing in the
courtyard Everyone seems happy, but he can't escape Is this heaven or hell, he wonders?
The song is generally understood to be an allegory about self-destruction in the Southern California music industry of the late 1970s Rock stars have a lot of money, and can buy anything they want But money does not buy happiness, and a life of only "pleasure" can feel like a prison or trap
The term "colitas" in the first stanza of the song is a Spanish term for "little tails." This is a reference to the Cannabis plant which is also known as marijuana
According to Glenn Frey, one of the member of The Eagles, the use of the word "steely" in the lyric is a reference to Steely Dan, a different band, who had included the lyric "Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening" in their song Everything You Did
The abstract and metaphoric nature of the song has led listeners to their own
interpretations over the years, including some claims, spread by word of mouth and e-mail, of satanic aspects Some believe the song was written about a real inn that had the same name of the song Though there is a Hotel California in Todos Santos, Baja California, its relation to the song begins and ends with the coincidence of a shared name None of the Eagles stayed there, let alone wrote music there Nor did they have this building in mind when they created the lyrics of this popular song
Other rumors suggested that the "Hotel California" was a mental hospital, or a metaphor for cancer These claims have been consistently refuted by the band Don Henley, one of the writers of the song, said “This song is our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles"
Whatever its real meaning is; this song is really popular all over the world People sing it in karaoke bars, from Thailand to London, Brazil and Iraq
1. This song was released in…
(3)2. It…
a) is very easy to explain b) isn’t easy to explain c) isn’t difficult to explain
3. “Weary” means…
a) Trapped b) tired c) tempting
4. In the lyrics, colitas is
a) Marijuana b) ”little tails” c) a Spanish term
5. “Steely” is a reference to
a) the song “Everything you did” b) another band c) The Eagles
6. In the paragraph the word “inn” means…
a) Todos Santos b) Baja california c) Hotel California
7. According to the paragraph the most accepted interpretation of the song is …
a) Satanic aspects. b) A metaphor of cancer.
c) Materialism and the lives of famous people d) The story of a mental hospital
e) The story about a real Hotel where the members of the band stayed in.
V. Write a paragraph about what the song means to you Use true facts like the ones in the box below.
“Hotel California was released on…
Released:February 22nd, 1977 Genre: Rock
Writers:Don Henley, Don Felder, Glenn Frey Producer:Bill Szymczyk
(4)
Answer key.
I. Discuss with your partner.
Answers may vary.
II. Find the proper word for each definition in the lyrics.
1. Chamber
2. Mission
3. Check out
4. Colitas
5. Feast
6. Spirit
7. Bends
8. Twisted
9. Dim
10. Corridor
III. Listen and fill in the blanks with the verbs in the box. Saw
Grew, grew Had
Stood Heard Was
Could, could Lit, showed Were
Thought, heard Called
(5)IV. Read the paragraph and choose the best answer
1 C) 2. B)
3. B)
4. A)
5. B)
6. C)
allegory Spanish Cannabis o Glenn Frey, o Steely Dan, Everything You Did. of satanic cancer