Hotel California started as an instrumental, composed by Don Felder, with the lyrics then written mainly by his fellow Eagles members, Don Henley and Glenn Frey. It was released in 1977 and soon became a huge success, even though - or maybe because - people have disagreed a lot over the lyrics and what they mean.

Henley once said it was about 'the high life in LA', and Felder suggested it was inspired partly by the sight of Hollywood in the distance, and the dreams that people have there. It's usually seen as being about decadence, too much of 'the high life' going sour and sinister. This struck a real chord with a lot of people in the 1970s, when so many dreams of peace, love, new life etc had ended in drink, drugs and disillusionment.

Other listeners have tried to give it a more specific meaning, linking it to exact times and places, but like all good poetry the song has many meanings, and shouldn't be tied down to a simple interpretation.