| Em | B7 | D | A | C | G | Am | B7 | |||||||
| Em | B7 |
| On a dark desert highway, | cool wind in my hair |
| D | A |
| Warm smell of colitas, | rising up through the air |
| C | G |
| Up ahead in the distance, | I saw a shimmering light |
| Am |
| My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim |
| B7 |
| I had to stop for the night |
| Em | B7 |
| There she stood in the doorway, | I heard the mission bell |
| D | A |
| And I was thinking to myself this could be | heaven or this could be hell |
| C | G |
| Then she lit up a candle, | and she showed me the way |
| Am | B7 |
| There were voices down the corridor, | I thought I heard them say: |
| C | G |
| Welcome to the Hotel Cali | fornia |
| B7 | Em | |
| Such a | lovely place (such a lovely place)... such a | lovely face |
| C | G |
| Plenty of room at the Hotel Cali | fornia |
| Am | B7 | |
| Any | time of year (any time of year)... you can | find it here |
| Em | B7 |
| Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, | she got the Mercedes bends |
| D | A |
| She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys | that she calls friends |
| C | G |
| How they dance in the courtyard, | sweet summer sweat |
| Am | B7 |
| Some dance to remember, | some dance to forget |
| Em | B7 |
| So I called up the captain, | "Please bring me my wine," he said |
| D | A |
| "We haven’t had that spirit here since | nineteen sixty-nine" |
| C | G |
| And still those voices are calling from | far away |
| Am | B7 |
| Wake you up in the middle of the night, | just to hear them say |
| C | G |
| Welcome to the Hotel Cali | fornia |
| B7 | Em | |
| Such | a lovely place (such a lovely place)... such a | lovely face |
| C | G |
| Livin’ it up at the Hotel Cali | fornia |
| Am | B7 | |
| What a | nice surprise... bring your | alibis |
| Em | B7 |
| Mirrors on the ceiling, | the pink champagne on ice, and she said, |
| D | A |
| "We are all just prisoners here, | of our own device" |
| C | G |
| And in the master’s chambers, | they gathered for the feast |
| Am | B7 |
| They stab it with their steely knives, but they | just can’t kill the beast |
| Em | B7 |
| Last thing I remember, | I was running for the door |
| D | A |
| I had to find the passage back to the | place I was before |
| C | G |
| "Relax" said the nightman, "We are | programmed to receive" |
| Am | B7 |
| "You can check out anytime you like, | but you can never leave" |