Hotel California | Chords + Lyrics (capo 7)
Intro
||: Em | B7/D# | Dsus2 D5/A | A9/C# |
| C | G/B G | Am Am/E | B7 :||
Verse 1
| Em | B7/D# |
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair.
| Dsus2 D5/A | A9/C# |
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air.
| C | G/B G |
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light.
| Am Am/E | B7 |
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim, I had to stop for the night.
Verse 2
| Em | B7/D# |
There she stood in the doorway, I heard the mission bell.
| Dsus2 D5/A | A9/C# |
And I was thinking to myself, “This could be Heaven or this could be Hell”.
| C | G/B G |
Then she lit up a candle, and she showed me the way.
| Am Am/E | B7 |
There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say.
Chorus 1
| C | G |
Welcome to the Hotel California.
| B7 | Em (E F# G A B) |
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place). Such a lovely face.
| C | G |
Plenty of room at the Hotel California.
| Am | B7 |
Any time of year (any time of year). You can find it here.
Verse 3
| Em | B7/D# |
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes Benz.
| Dsus2 D5/A | A9/C# |
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends.
| C | G/B G |
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
| Am Am/E | B7 |
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget.
Verse 4
| Em | B7/D# |
So I called up the Captain, “Please, bring me my wine”.
| Dsus2 D5/A | A9/C# |
He said, ‘We haven’t had that spirit here since, 1969″.
| C | G/B G |
And still those voices are calling from far away.
| Am Am/E | B7 |
Wake you up in the middle of the night, just to hear them say.
Chorus 2
| C | G |
Welcome to the Hotel California.
| B7 | Em (E F# G A B) |
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place). Such a lovely face.
| C | G |
They livin’ it up at the Hotel California.
| Am | B7 |
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise), Bring your alibis.
Verse 5
| Em | B7/D# |
Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice.
| Dsus2 D5/A | A9/C# |
And she said, “We are all just prisoners here of our own device”.
| C | G/B G |
And in the master’s chambers, they gathered for the feast.
| Am Am/E | B7 |
They stab it with their steely knives but they just can’t kill the beast.
Verse 6
| Em | B7/D# |
Last thing I remember, I was running for the door.
| Dsus2 D5/A | A9/C# |
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before.
| C | G/B G |
“Relax,” said the night man, “We are programmed to receive.
| Am Am/E | B7 N.C |
You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave”.
Solo
||: Em | B7/D# | Dsus2 D5/A | A9/C# |
| C | G/B G | Am Am/E | B7 :|| to fade
Hotel California’s chords and progressions
One of the most legendary guitar tracks of all time, the Eagles Hotel California is not played in the key of Bm like most people would have you believe, or at least, it’s not that simple.
To get it right, you need to think in Em, using a capo on fret 7. Once you try it, you will instantly hear how the chords all of a sudden “sound right”.
Members get TAB for how to play this correctly as there are several little details that can only be described accurately in this way.
Then there’s the solo to look at as well, now we must remove the capo and think in Bm. Should you learn the original solo you’ll get a great lesson in how to target chord notes.
Members get the arpeggio part of the solo transcribed as this is the best part. But what’s even better is what we can learn from Hotel California’s solo.
When you can see how the arpeggios follow the chords, you can start changing the shapes, effectively map out the fretboard, get a great arpeggio exercise, and play Hotel California’s solo at the same time.
Another great lesson Hotel California provides is how the chord progression moves in and out of the key, members get a full analysis.
Here’s a link to the complete lesson (members only): Hotel California chord analysis and TAB.
Become a member today and get unlimited access to all step-by-step guitar courses, TAB for the songbook, the Self-Eliminating Practice Routine, and the eBook Spytunes Method.
Hotel California has the greatest guitar solo of all time!
Voted to have the best guitar solo of all time by Guitarist Magazine’s readers, Hotel California actually started out as an instrumental.
For every album, Don Felder would submit instrumental demos for Henley and Frey to write lyrics and melodies to. This is how Hotel California started out with the working title Mexican Reggae.
Many of the original guitar ideas were kept for the epic guitar solo at the end of the tune.
Driving from their Malibu homes into Los Angeles at night, the inspiration for the lyrics came to Henley and Frey to write about the complex world of California fame.
What the lyrics really mean (is it about rehab?) has been discussed endlessly by fans and journalists since its release in 1977, the band themselves claiming it to be their interpretation of Los Angeles high life.
Hotel California chords | Related pages
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We incorporate bass lines, add licks, extend chords, and play vocal melodies. Most importantly, we’ll invent second guitar parts and play these songs together.
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Eagles
Formed in Los Angeles, the Eagles released their debut album in 1972. They spent the next seven years becoming one of the biggest bands in the world.
Their best tunes include Take It Easy, Hotel California, Lyin’ Eyes, Life In The Fast Lane, One Of These Nights, and Take It To The Limit.
Eagles On The Web
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