There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission³ bell.
And I was thinking to myself :
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"
Then she lit up a candle, and she showed me the way.
There were voices down the corridor⁴
I thought I heard them say:

Welcome to the Hotel California.
Such a lovely place (x2), such a lovely face.
Plenty of room in the Hotel California.
Any time of year, you can find it here.

Her mind is Tiffany-twisted ⁵ , she's got the Mercedes bends⁶.
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys that she calls friends.
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat,
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget.

So I called up the Captain:
"Please bring me my wine."
He said, "We haven't had that spirit ⁷ 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.............

Welcome to the Hotel California.
Such a lovely place (x2), such a lovely face.
They livin' it up at the Hotel California.
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis.

Mirrors on the ceiling
The pink champagne on ice.
And she said: "We are all just prisoners here
of our own device⁸."

And in the master's chambers⁹
They gathered for the feast. ¹⁰
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast.

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door.
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before.
"Relax," said the night man,
"We are programmed¹¹ to receive.
You can check out ¹² any time you like,
But you can never leave."