Hotel California lyrics on YouTube

[Amanda]

Hi everyone,

I found this slide show on YouTube that is the Spanish lyrics of Hotel California, with the audio of them singing the song. This is a longer version of the song than in the video from the Greek Theatre concert; it also includes the spoken section in the middle. One of the people commenting on YouTube said the lyrics were wrong, but didn't say why. If anyone has some criticism of these lyrics, please let me know.

Gipsy Kings - Hotel California Lyrics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdmMOIgKtus

Thanks,

Amanda

[Jusquin]

There are some problems with the lyrics, and I'll try to sort them out, but it will take me a few more listens and a little bit more time.

[Amanda]

Hi Jusquin,

Thanks! Many fans over the years have been interested in finding out what are the accurate lyrics to this song.

Amanda

[Jusquin]

I don't know how accurate my lyrics are; I came as close as I could both to what I thought I heard in the Gipsy Kings' version and to what the Eagles sang in their original, taking into account the pronunciation differences between Español and Catalán. I'll put the lyrics in this post and my translation in the next. And if there are any Spanish-speakers here who can correct or improve upon this, please feel free!

Por el camino del desierto
El viento me despeina
Fue aroma de colitas,
Luna -- luna de nadie
Allá en lo lejos
Una luz centellea
La idea de mi esta
Dormir para la noche.

Ella estaba a la entrada
Y la campana era sonar
Y me dije a mi mismo
Es el abajo o el cielo.
Ella hacen una vela
Que muestran de camino;
Fue una voz en el corredor
Ello que indiquen decían:

(In English)

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely place

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely place

Y hay al lado que brillaba
Tenia una Mercedes,
Rodeada de chicos guapos
Ella llamaba amigos.

Cuando bailan despacio
Perfumes de verano
A que eran para recordar
Y otros para olvidar.

Le pedí al capitán
Servir el vino
Y me dijo que ya no
Tenido este alcohol
Desde sesenta y nueve.
Las voces me llamándo
Después me despiertan
La noche para decir:

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely place

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely place

(Speaking)

Un espejo en el techo,
Champana en el hielo,
Y ella dijo: “Somos todos prisioneros
De propia voluntad.”
Y en los cuartos principales
Hacen sus fiestas.
Está aca a la bestia,
Pero no la logran a matar.

(Singing again)

Mi ultimo recuerdo --
Corri hacia la puerta.
Vi una candela en el camino
Adonde había llegado.
"Relax," dijo el portero.
"Por mi es solo recibir.
Puede salir cuando quiere,
Pero nunca yo partir."

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place

[Jusquin]

And here is my translation; for those who don't know, colitas are buds of the marijuana plant (which likely explains the entire song!).

On the desert road
The wind ruffles me.
There was the smell of colitas,
Moon -- no moon.
In the distance
A light shimmers
My idea (the idea of me) is
To sleep for the night.

She was at the entrance
And the bell was ringing,
And I said to myself
This is hell or heaven (below or the sky).
She had a candle
Showing the way.
It was a voice in the corridor
That said, indicating:

(In Inglés)

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely place

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely place

Beside her, shining,
She had a Mercedes
Surrounded by cute boys
She called friends.

When they are dancing slowly
Summer perfumes
Some were to remember
And others to forget.

I asked the captain
To serve the wine
And he said he no longer
Had this alcohol
Since sixty-nine.
The voices calling me
Later will arouse me
At night to say:

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely place

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely place

(Speaking)

A mirror on the ceiling,
Champagne on ice.
And she said: “We are all prisoners
Of our own will.”
And in the main rooms
They make their feasts.
The beast is here
But they are not able to kill it.

(Singing again)

My last memory --
I ran to the door.
I saw a candle on the road
From where I had come.
"Relax," said the doorman,
“For me it is only to receive.
You can leave when you want
But never depart.”

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place

[Amanda]

Thanks, Jusquin! I'm sure a lot of people will appreciate your posts. On the old Forum before the server crashed, some people were asking about the lyrics.

Amanda

[Jusquin]

I can TOTALLY understand how people have had such a hard time with Gipsy KIngs lyrics over the years, because often what you think you're hearing might not be what they're actually singing. Translation is not easy. But it has to make sense. There are so many transcription errors! (And I'll be the first one to say that I probably got some things wrong, too.)

Another thing I wrestled with is that in Spanish (French, too, for that matter) there is something called elision, which means that if one word ends in a vowel and the next word begins with a vowel, only one of them is sounded (it occurs with some consonants as well). So you've got, for example, fue una voz sounding like fuenavo. You've also got b and v pronounced almost the same in some instances in Spanish, so someone heard vienes where I heard bailas and del tumba de verano where I heard perfumes de verano. I went with what made sense in Spanish and best matched the Eagles' lyrics in English.

And all bets are off when they're singing in what I assume to be Caló -- a language about which, admittedly, I know next to nothing. In matching sounds I hear on recordings and what I see in concert videos with lyrics I've seen, I've found malaqay for malacali ("Majiwi"), and mashimela for mashilela ("Viento del Arena"). I don't know what the word actually should be because I don't know the language -- it's just my observation based on what I do know.

[Amanda]

Hi Jusquin,

Those are all good points. I can see why people want to know what the song lyrics are; I feel the same way. But ultimately just listening to the songs and experiencing them is what matters. I read something interesting from a Gipsy Kings fan once on the Internet. It may not have been on this Forum. He said that he needed to listen to the Gipsy Kings' music often (he may have said every day) because it helped him to regulate his mood, keep his spirits up. He said that the fact he didn't understand the lyrics at all was an advantage for him because the meaning of the lyrics didn't get in the way of the songs' positive affect on his mood.

Amanda

[Jusquin]

And you make some good points as well. In the end, it IS the experience of the song that matters. It's the exuberance of "Bem Bem Maria;" the longing of "Montaña;" the passion of "Gitano Soy;" the playfulness of "La Vida de Gipsy;" etc. There's a song for every mood.

I like to know the lyrics mainly because I like to sing along; as a guitar player, too, I like to be able to do the entire song.

(But I'm also a Virgo, and we're notorious nitpickers.)

[Amanda]

Hi Jusquin,

I'm a fellow Virgo, so I know what you mean! I also like to sing along.

Amanda