Hotel California chords, lyrics and amazing live video performance of The Eagles in 1994. Released in 1976, the song instantly hit number 1 on the charts, and still remains one of the great masterpiece songs of the classic rock era.
Artist: The Eagles Composers: Henley / Frey / Felder Album: Hotel California Released: 1976
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
On a dark desert highway,
F#7
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
cool wind in my hair
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B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
Warm smell of colitas,
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G
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A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
rising up through the air
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A
A#
B
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D
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E
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Up ahead in the distance,
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E
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G
G#
A
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B
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C#
I saw a shimmering light
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F
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G
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A
A#
B
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D#
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
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G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
I had to stop for the night
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
There she stood in the doorway
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G#7
A7
A#7
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C7
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D7
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E7
F7
I heard the mission bell
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D
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E
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And I was thinking to myself
“This could be
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D#
Heaven or this could be Hell”
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A
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E
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Then she lit up a candle
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E
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G
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A
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B
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C#
and she showed me the way
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G
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D#
There were voices down the corridor
I
F#7
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A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
thought I heard them say
Chorus
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A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
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F#
Welcome to the Hotel Cali
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D#
E
F
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G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
fornia
Such a
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G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
lovely
face
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A
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B
C
C#
D
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E
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Plenty of room at the Hotel Cali
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E
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G
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A
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B
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C#
fornia
Any
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G
G#
A
A#
B
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C#
D
D#
time of year (Any time of year)
You can
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G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
find it here
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
Her mind is Ti
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G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
any-twisted,
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A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
she got the Mercedes bends
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E
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She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys
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she calls friends
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A
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E
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How they dance in the courtyard,
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E
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G
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A
A#
B
C
C#
sweet summer sweat
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F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
Some dance to remember,
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G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
some dance to forget
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
So I called up the Captain
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G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
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E7
F7
”Please bring me my wine.”
He said,
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E
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”We haven’t had that spirit here since
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A
A#
B
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C#
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D#
nineteen sixty nine.”
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E
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And still those voices are calling from
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E
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far
away
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C#
D
D#
Wake you up in the middle of the night
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A#7
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C#7
D7
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F7
Just to hear them say
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B
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D#
E
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F#
Welcome to the Hotel Cali
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D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
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C#
fornia
Such a
F#7
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
lovely
face
They
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
livin’ it up at the Hotel Cali
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E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
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C#
fornia
What a
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
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C#
D
D#
nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your
F#7
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
alibis
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
Mirrors on the ceiling
F#7
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
The pink champagne on ice
And she said
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C#
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D#
E
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G#
”We are all just prisoners here,
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F#
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A#
B
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C#
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D#
of our own device”
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D#
E
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And in the master’s chambers
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E
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G
G#
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A#
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C#
They gathered for the feast
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G
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A
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C#
D
D#
They stab it with their steely knives
But they
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G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
just can’t kill the beast
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
Last thing I remember
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G7
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A7
A#7
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C7
C#7
D7
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E7
F7
I was running for the door
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E
F
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I had to find the passage back to the
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F#
G
G#
A
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B
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C#
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D#
place I was before
G
G#
A
A#
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E
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”Relax,” said the night man
“We are
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C#
programmed to receive
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F#
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G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
You can check-out any time you like
F#7
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
But you can never leave!”
Hotel California chords
This song can be played a few ways on the guitar. Without a capo, the chord chart above will be in the key of D with he opening Bm chord used at the root of the song. From watching the videos below, it looks like both Joe Walsh and Don Felder play the song in this arrangement. The other way to play the chords are in the key of C major while using a capo on the 2nd fret. The opening chord then becomes Am and all the other chords would get transposed. Check the videos below and you’ll see that Glen Frey plays his guitar in this arrangement. So, if you have two guitarists playing the song on acoustic, it will sound really great to each play in one of those arrangements.
If you are learning the song, try transposing the chords above. It’s simple enough, just take each chord from the arrangement above and transpose it down one whole step. So the Bm chords becomes Am. The A chord becomes G. And so on… It’s always good to figure this out on your own. It will help you develop some chord theory for times you might need to transpose a song on the fly. I’ve been in many playing situations where I’ve adjusted a song’s chords to accommodate a better vocal range. So I urge you to try it out.
If you really want a quick way to transpose a song, you can always go to ultimate-guitar.com. The website truly is the ultimate site for guitar chords and tabs. Find a song version you like and then use the transpose button to drop the song a whole step. Remember to put your capo on the 2nd fret.
If you’re like me and love learning songs from the 70’s, try this song: Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd.
