Your Interpretations and/or Questions to Song Lyrics

[frankotank]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

“ On "Hotel California," you sing: "So I called up the captain / 'Please bring me my wine' / He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since 1969.'" I realize I'm probably not the first to bring this to your attention, but wine isn't a spirit. Wine is fermented; spirits are distilled. Do you regret that lyric? ”

Henley responded:
“ Thanks for the tutorial and, no, you're not the first to bring this to my attention—and you're not the first to completely misinterpret the lyric and miss the metaphor. Believe me, I've consumed enough alcoholic beverages in my time to know how they are made and what the proper nomenclature is. But that line in the song has little or nothing to do with alcoholic beverages. It's a sociopolitical statement. My only regret would be having to explain it in detail to you, which would defeat the purpose of using literary devices in songwriting and lower the discussion to some silly and irrelevant argument about chemical processes.[12] ”

[16]

I wish he'd have answered fully but it's just not his way. he is always about leaving the interpretation up to the listener....but boy he smacked a bitch here!

I have heard the meaning of the "spirit" lyric twisted into being a reference to the Holy Spirit and the first church of satan starting in 1969. so the Holy Spirit hasn't been there since 1969. I've never given that an ounce of credibility. just stupid.

I believe the spirit he is referring to is the spirit of freedom and the days of worry free living. the kind of hippie-esque notion of a world where it's everybody loving one another and we're all happy. he's saying those days are over.
same sentiment displayed in The End Of The Innocence.
just my opinion.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by frankotank

I believe the spirit he is referring to is the spirit of freedom and the days of worry free living. the kind of hippie-esque notion of a world where it's everybody loving one another and we're all happy. he's saying those days are over.
same sentiment displayed in The End Of The Innocence.
just my opinion.

That's what I figured. He's got the balls to ask an authority figure to not only serve him (ah, the old days) but to serve him an intoxicating beverage.