On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy, and my sight grew dimmer
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission 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 corridor, I thought I h eard them say...


Refrain:
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year, you can find it here


Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, She got the Mercedes bends
She's 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 here since 1969'
And still those voices are calling from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...


Refrain:
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely Place (such a lovely face)
They’re 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 device'
And in the master's chambers, they gathered for the feast
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 nightman, ‘We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave’

Somebody's gonna hurt someone
Before the night is through
Somebody's gonna come undone
There's nothin' we can do

Everybody wants to touch somebody
If it takes all night
Everybody wants to take a little chance
And make it come out right

There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
Lord, I know

Some people like to stay out late
Some folks can't hold out that long
But nobody wants to go home now
There's too much goin' on

This night is gonna last forever
Last all, last all summer long
Sometimes before the sun comes up
The radio is gonna play that song

There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
Lord, I know

There's gonna be a heartache tonight
The moon's shinin' bright
So turn out the light
And we'll get it right
There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know

Somebody's gonna hurt someone (somebody)
Before the night is through
Somebody's gonna come undone
There's nothin' we can do (everybody)

Everybody wants to touch somebody
If it takes all night
Everybody wants to take a little chance
And make it come out right

There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
Let's go

We can beat around the bushes
We can get down to the bone
We can leave it in the parkin' lot
But either way there's gonna be a -
Heartache tonight, a heartache tonight,
I know
Oh, I know
There'll be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know

Look at us baby, up all night
Tearing our love apart
Aren't we the same two people who lived
Through years in the dark? Ooh-oh
Every time I try to walk away
Somethin' makes me turn around and stay
And I can't tell you why
When we get crazy, it just ain't right
(Try to keep your head, little girl)
Girl, I get lonely too
You don't have to worry, just hold on tight
(Don't get caught in your little world)
'Cause I love you

Nothin's wrong as far as I can see
We make it harder than it has to be
And I can't tell you why -no, baby
I can't tell you why
I can't tell you why

Every time I try to walk away
Somethin' makes me turn around and stay
And I can't tell you why, no, no, baby
I can't tell you why
I can't tell you why
I can't tell you why

I used to hurry a lot, I used to worry a lot,
I used to stay out till the break of the day.
Oh that didn't git it, it was high time, I quit it,
I just couldn't carry on that way.
Oh, I did some damage, I know it's true.
Didn't know I was so lonely till I found you.

Who can go the distance?
We'll find out in the long run.
In the long run
We can handle some resistance
If our love is a strong one.
Is a strong one
People talkin' about us, they got nothin' else to do.
When it all comes down we will still come through
In the long run.
Ooh I want to tell you it's a long run.

You know I don't understand why you don't treat yourself better,
Do the crazy things that you do.
When all the debutantes in Houston, baby,
Couldn't hold a candle to you.
Did you do it for love, did you do it for money?
Did you do it for spite, did you think you had to, honey?

Who is gonna make it?
We'll find out in the long run.
In the long run
I know we can take it
If our love is a strong one.
Is a strong one
Well we're scared but we ain't shakin',
Kinda bent but we ain't breakin'
In the long run.
Ooh I want to tell you it's a long run.

There's talk on the street, it sounds so familiar.
Great expectations, everybody's watching you.
People you meet they all seem to know you,
Even your old friends treat you like you're something new.
Johnny-come-lately, the new kid in town,
Everybody loves you, so don't let them down.

You look in her eyes, the music begins to play.
Hopeless romantics, here we go again.
But after a while you're looking the other way.
It's those restless hearts that never mend.
Johnny-come-lately, the new kid in town,
Will she still love you when you're not around?

There's so many things you should have told her
But night after night you're willing to hold her,
Just hold her tears on your shoulder.

There's talk on the street, it's there to remind you
That it doesn't really matter which side you're on.
You're walking away and they're talking behind you.
They will never forget you till somebody new comes along.

Where you been lately? There's a new kid in town.
Everybody loves him, don't they? Now he's holding her
And you're still around, oh my my.
There's a new kid in town,
Just another new kid in town.

Oo-hoo, everybody's talking 'bout the new kid in town.
Oo-hoo, everybody's walking like the new kid in town.
There's a new kid in town, I don't want to hear it
There's a new kid in town, I don't want to hear it
There's a new kid in town
There's a new kid in town
There's a new kid in town, everybody's talking
There's a new kid in town, people started walking
There's a new kid in town
There's a new kid in town
(Repeat & Fade)

I have a mansion, forget the price.
Ain't never been there, they tell me it's nice.
I live in hotels, tear out the walls.
I have accountants pay for it all.

They say I'm crazy, but I have a good time.
I'm just lookin' for clues at the scene of the crime.
Life's been good to me so far...

My Maserati does 185.
I lost my license, now I don't drive.
I have a limo, ride in the trunk.
I lock the doors in case I get drunk.

I make hit records, my fans they can't wait.
They write Tim letters, tell Glenn Don's great.
So I got me an office, gold records on the wall.
Just leave a message, maybe I'll call.

Lucky I'm sane after all I've been through
Everybody say I'm cool (He's cool).
I can't complain but sometimes I still do.
Life's been good to me so far...

I go to parties sometimes until four.
It's hard to leave when you can't find some more.
It's tough to handle this fortune and fame.
Everybody's so different, we're all insane.

They say I'm lazy, but it takes all my time.
Everybody say "Oh, yeah." (Oh Yeah.)
I keep on going, guess I'll never know why.
Life's been good to me so far...

---

Well, baby, there you stand
With your little head down in your hand.
Oh my God, you can't believe it's happening again.
Your baby's gone and you're all alone and it looks like the end.

And you're back out on the street
And you're tryin' to remember.
How do you start it over? You don't know if you can.
You don't care much for a stranger's touch but you can't hold your man.

You never thought you'd be alone
This far down the line
And I know what's been on your mind,
You're afraid it's all been wasted time.

The autumn leaves have got you thinking
About the first time that you fell.
You didn't love the boy too much,
No no, you just loved the boy too well.
Farewell.

So you live from day to day
And you dream about tomorrow, oh.
And the hours go by like minutes and the shadows come to stay.
So ya take a little something to make them go away.

And I could have done so many things, baby,
If I could only stop my mind
From wond'rin' what I left behind
And from worryin' 'bout this wasted time.

Ooh, another love had come and gone.
Ooh, and the years keep rushing on.
I remember what you told me before you went out on your own:
Sometimes to keep it together we got to leave it alone.

So you can get on with your search, baby,
And I can get on with mine.
And maybe someday we will find
That it wasn't really wasted time.

All alone at the end of the evening
And the bright lights have faded to blue.
I was thinking 'bout a woman who might have loved me,
I never knew.
You know I've always been a dreamer
Spent my life running ‘round
And it's so hard to change
Can’t seem to settle down

But the dreams I've seen lately keep on turning out
And burning out and turning out the same.

So put me on a highway and show me a sign
And take it to the limit one more time.

You can spend all your time making money,
You can spend all your love making time.
If it all fell to pieces tomorrow
Would you still be mine?
And when you're looking for your freedom
Nobody seems to care
And you can't find the door
Can’t find it anywhere
When there's nothing to believe in still you're coming back,
You're running back, you're coming back for more.

So put me on a highway and show me a sign
And take it to the limit one more time.

Take it to the limit, take it to the limit,
Take it to the limit one more time.
Take it to the limit, take it to the limit,
Take it to the limit one more time.
Take it to the limit, take it to the limit,
Take it to the limit one more time.
Take it to the limit, take it to the limit,
Take it to the limit one more time.
Take it to the limit, take it to the limit,
Take it to the limit one more time.
Take it to the limit, take it to the limit,
Take it to the limit one more time...

Instrumental

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out ridin' fences for so long now,
Oh, you're a hard one, I know that you got your reasons,
These things that are pleasin' you can hurt you somehow.

Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy, she'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet.
Now it seems to me some fine things have been laid upon your table,
But you only want the ones you can't get.

Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no younger,
Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home,
And freedom, oh freedom, well, that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walkin' through this world all alone.

Don't your feet get cold in the wintertime?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine,
It's hard to tell the nighttime from the day.
You're losin' all your highs and lows,
Ain't it funny how the feelin' goes away?

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you.
You better let somebody love you,
Let somebody love you
You better let somebody love you,
Before it's too late.

Seems like a dream now, it was so long ago,
The moon burned so bright and the time went so slow,
And I swore that I loved her and gave her a ring.
The bluebird was high on the wing.

Whatever happened to Saturday night
Finding a sweetheart and holding her tight?
She said "Tell me, oh, tell me, was I all right?"
Whatever happened to Saturday night?

The years brought the railroad it ran by my door
Now there's boards on the windows and dust on the floor
And she passes the time at another man's side,
And I pass the time with my pride.

What a tangled web we weave, go 'round with circumstance.
Someone show me how to tell the dancer from the dance.

Whatever happened to Saturday night
Choosing a friend and losing a fight?
She said, "Tell me, oh, tell me, are you all right?"
Whatever happened to Saturday night?
Whatever happened to Saturday night?

We get up early and we work all day.
We put our time in 'cause we like to stay up
All night long. All night long.

We keep on grinnin' 'til the weekend comes.
Just a pinch between your cheek and gums.
All night long. All night long.

Start in the morning and get the job done.
Take care of business and we have some fun.
All night long. All night long.

We like a long neck and a good old song.
Turn it up and then we'll sing along. Sing along.
Oh, we're stayin' up all night long.

All night long.
All night long.
All night long.
All night long.

He was a hard-headed man he was brutally handsome
And she was terminally pretty
She held him up and he held for ransom
In the heart of the cold, cold city
He had a nasty reputation as a cruel dude
They said he was ruthless said he was crude
They had one thing in common: they were good in bed
She'd say, "Faster, faster. "The lights are turning red."

Life in the fast lane
Surely make you lose your mind
Life in the fast lane

Eager for action and hot for the game
The coming attraction, the drop of a name
They knew all the right people; They took all the right pills
They threw outrageous parties; They paid heavenly bills
There were lines on the mirror, lines on her face
She pretended not to notice she was caught up in the race
Out every evenin' until it was light
He was too tired to make it; she was too tired to fight about it.

Life in the fast lane surely make you lose your mind
Life in the fast lane
Life in the fast lane everything all the time
Life in the fast lane

Blowin' and burnin' blinded by thirst
They didn't see the stop sign; Took a turn for the worst
She said, "Listen, baby. You can hear the engine ring.
"We've been up and down this highway; haven't seen a god-damn thing."
He said, "Call the doctor. I think I'm gonna crash."
"The doctor say he's coming but you gotta pay in cash."
They were rushing down that freeway; messed around and got lost
They didn't care they were just dyin' to get off.

And it was life in the fast lane
Surely make you lose your mind
Life in the fast lane
Life in the fast lane everything all the time
Life in the fast lane

Well, I'm a runnin' down the road, tryin' to loosen my load,
I've got seven women on my mind:
Four that wanna own me, two that wanna stone me,
One says she's a friend of mine.
Take it easy, take it easy,
Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.
Lighten up while you still can, don't even try to understand,
Just find a place to make your stand and take it easy.

Well, I'm a standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
And such a fine sight to see:
It's a girl, my Lord, in a flat bed Ford
Slowin' down to take a look at me.
Come on, baby, don't say maybe.
I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me.
We may lose and we may win though we will never be here again.
So open up, I'm climbin' in, so take it easy.

Well, I'm a runnin' down the road, tryin' to loosen my load,
Got a world of trouble on my mind.
Lookin' for a lover who won't blow my cover,
She's so hard to find.
Take it easy, take it easy,
Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.
Come on, baby, don't say maybe.
I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me.
Oh, we got it easy,
We oughta take it easy.