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 dim 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 heard them say...
Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place Such a lovely face
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 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 nineteen sixty nine\' And still those
voices are calling from far away, Wake you up in the middle of the night Just
to hear them say...
Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place Such a lovely face
They 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 night man, We are
programmed to receive. You can checkout any time you like, but you can never
leave!
〉Warm smell of colitas,rising up through the air
〉浓烈的烤烟味道
〉散发在空气中
colitas:被译为烤烟,我不知道译者从那里得到这个解释的,却可算是错打错着了
。这个词在英文字典中没有解释,因为这不是一个英文词。这是一个西班牙语,南加州与
墨西哥近邻,所以西班牙语常混杂在口语中。cola 在西班牙语中指尾巴(tail),coli
tas 是复数名词,意思是小尾巴们(little tails)。在七十年代,大麻的苞蕾被戏称
为小尾巴,所以在这里colitas应该是隐指大麻的。大麻称着烤烟也可算是一个戏称。
烤烟的温暖气息,
在空气中散发。
〉Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
〉My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
〉I had to stop for the night
〉抬头向远处眺望
〉我看到一点微弱的灯火
〉我的头越来越沉重,视线慢慢变的模糊
〉我必须停下来过夜了
head grew heavy 是疲累的状态,同时也是吸食大麻会出现的一个现象。
前面的远处
我见到一丝灯光
我的头混沉视线迷糊
我得过夜在这地方
〉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 heard them say...
〉她站在门口那里
〉我听到了教堂的钟声
〉我告诉自己
〉这里可能是天堂也可能是地狱
〉然后她点燃蜡烛给我带路
〉走廊深处传来说话声
〉我好像听到他们说……
〉Welcome to the Hotel California
〉Such a lovely place
〉Such a lovely face
〉Plenty of room at the Hotel California
〉Any time of year, you can find it here
〉欢迎来加州旅馆
〉多么可爱的地方
〉多么可爱的面容
〉这里有许多的房间
〉任何时候
〉你都能找到它
〉Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
〉She 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
〉她的心像打结的纱
〉她拥有默西迪斯奔驰车
〉她拥有很多漂亮的男孩
〉她说是她的朋友们
〉他们在院子里跳舞
〉夏日大汗淋漓
〉有些让人回忆,有些已经忘记
〉So I called up the Captain,
〉\'Please bring me my wine\'
〉He said, \'We haven\'t had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine\'
〉And still those voices are calling from far away,
〉Wake you up in the middle of the night 〉Just to hear them say...
〉我吩咐领班
〉请给我一些酒
〉他却说
〉我们从1969年以后就没有烈酒了
〉那些说话声仍然从远处传来
〉在深夜把你吵醒
〉模糊地听到他们说……
spirit,是指高酒精度的烈酒。
我叫过来领班
“给我来点好酒。”
他说,我们再无供应自从一九六九。
遥远处依然传来那些声响
在深夜将你唤醒
听见他们在讲
〉Welcome to the Hotel California
〉Such a lovely place
〉Such a lovely face
〉They livin\' it up at the Hotel California
〉What a nice surprise, bring your alibis
〉欢迎来加州旅馆
〉多么可爱的地方
〉多么可爱的面容
〉他们在这里享受人生
〉让人多么惊奇
〉带给你的堕落的托辞
〉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
〉天花板上镶嵌着镜子
〉香槟酒在冰中〉她说
〉我们只不过是把自己囚禁在这里
〉与世隔绝
〉在主人的卧室
〉他们正在聚餐
〉他们用钢刀切着
〉但他们却杀不掉野兽
“镜子在天花顶,粉红香槟浸在冰块上,”这是好莱坞中糜烂与色情的代表镜头。
of one\'s own device :of one\'s own wish (某人自己的愿望的意思。
)
后面几句则是好莱圬的恐怖片中邪教的常见场面:在一个大的房间里面,人们在举行
狂欢的仪式,许多人都用刀来刺杀代表恶魔的野兽。
〉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 night man,
〉We are programmed to receive.
〉You can checkout any time you like,
〉but you can never leave!
〉我记得最后
〉我向门口跑去
〉但是我必须
〉找到我来时的路
〉别紧张,守夜的人说
〉我们只是按照程序接待
〉你任何时候都可以结帐
〉但你永远也无法离开
相对于实地去寻找,加州旅馆是虚指的象征显然更加有说服力。但是这象征是何所指
呢?这也至少有音乐界、洛杉矶生活、美国社会三种说法。
六十年代是美国音乐界的自由创作时期,摇滚乐的流行成为六十年代自由与反叛思想
的象征,然而其盛况也带来了商人无限贪婪的眼睛。吸毒和淫乱几乎成了每个摇滚手在七
十年代走的同一条堕落之路,金钱与享乐成为了摇滚音乐在七十年代的新形象。
同为音乐人的老鹰乐团看到这样的事实,却无能为力。
乐手们已经将这种沉迷的生活看成了是音乐界的常态,摇滚乐手们身边总充满了漂亮
的面孔与漂亮的地点。对于外界的质疑,他们总是自我的原谅:放轻松点吧,我们是天生
易于被诱惑。音乐界已经无法杀死金钱的这个心魔,即使某些个人可以暂时结束,却永远
无法摆脱。
一九六九年的伍德斯多克(woodstock),被视为摇滚的顶峰聚会。spirit 同时有
精神之意,歌词暗示在伍德斯多克之后,无论看起来多美丽,摇滚的精神已经不再存在了
。
认为这首歌象征美国社会的人则这样来理解一九六九:一九六九是六十年代最后一年
,说自一九六九就再没有那样的精神了,是指美国六十年代的自由、和平、平等的精神。
然而美国进入七十年代,遇到的是中东石油危机、越战的战败、尼克松的水门事件等
。就在一夜间,美国的精神面貌就从奋斗的青年们变成了庸俗与颓废的中年了。
在两三年前有一部斯坦利·库别克(Stanley Kubrick)
拍摄了一部“大开眼界”(Eye wide open),看过这部电影的观众就可以在这部
电影内容中发现与这首歌词许多神似的情节内容。也是同样的吸毒堕落,也是同样的荒淫
性乱,也是同样的拜魔情结,也有同样的无法摆脱的阴影。这部电影就如同是这首歌的一
个解说,讲述那种已经不堪的美国社会状态了。
洛杉矶之说是老鹰乐队自己在人们无数次追问后的一个回答,虽然说歌曲就如同小说
一样,离开了作者后要由听者来解释,堂·亨莱(Don Henley)是这样解说的:“我们
是一群来自中西部州中产阶层背景的年轻人,加州旅馆是我们对洛杉矶的上流社会的理解
。它可看做是对总是追求奢淫生活的美国的一个象征,而不仅仅是关于加州和毕利华山区
。”(洛杉矶的一个最富人区)
("We were all middle-class kids from the Midwest," Henley said of the
Eagles. "\'Hotel California\' wasour interpretation of the high life in Los
Angeles. It was meant to be a metaphor for the United States, for the excesses
this country has always been knownfor. It wasn\'t meant to be just about
California or Beverly Hills.")