So?
Likewise.
I have a friend who for years thought that it was ‘colitis’ and not ‘colitas.’ When he finally got it explained, the :smack: moment was priceless.
For those quoting multiple sites with identical lyrics on both sides of the issue, just remember that very, very, very few sites actually sit down and write out the lyrics themselves. They borrow extensively from other sites. So errors get repeated ad-nauseum and the number of sites that match hardly indicates accuracy, just piracy.
Hard to believe, ain’t it? But it was just another day’s work and another band at the time. Considering several album’s worth of music passed over my desk each week, it was hard to pick out the winners from the chaff. Ah, hindsight!
I’m sure that must be fascinating, but I have no idea what any of it means.
The earlier “colitis” reference was about another song: “the girl with colitis goes by.” I don’t see how anyone could mis-hear “colitas” as “colitis” because they’re pronounced so differently.
Lead Sheet: A form of musical shorthand encompassing the three basic elements of most songs: melody, harmony, and lyrics. A lead sheet may be used to help musicians learn a song and can be used for copyright purposes, especially pre-1976 US copyright submissions when sheet music was the only way to copyright a song.
Publishing houses typically handle the copyrighting of songs they publish, but sometimes they forgot to get lead sheets done until the record was about to be released. “Oh, shit!” is the common reaction, and it caused calls to people like me to handle the entire album overnight, cost no object. I was glad to triple my price and stay up all night.
When writing a lead sheet, I listen to the melody and try to write it in standard western music notation. I try to write the harmony with standard chord symbols, and I either write the lyrics as I hear them or transfer them from a printed lyric (text) sheet. For much music, if the songwriter writes the lyrics down for me, it’s better than my trying to guess what he said, so I encouraged writers to do that.
So if I had saved a copy of my lead sheets for Hotel California, it might have ended the debate about the lyrics. I’m sure it’s in the publisher’s file drawers somewhere, and filed in the US Copyright Office.
Does that explain it?
All those lead sheets: aren’t you suffering from lead poisoning by now?? 
Mebbe that’s where the memory loss comes from …
What memory loss? What are we talking about? Where am I?
Psst…it’s pronounced “leed” sheet, not “led” sheet.
maybe, but Kryptonite doesn’t faze him.
IME a lot of Karaoke lyrics differ from the original, a fair amount of the rest of the arrangement does as well. I don’t know if it is for copyright purposes or sloppy copying (or sloppy pirating, Yarr) but I would be hard pressed to view Karaoke lyrics as reliable.
Back in the '80s (capitalized of course) the cover band I was in used to sing it as “Pink champange on ice” and thought it was cheap California hooch, perhaps some cold duck or something. We always knew that colitas was a euphamism for bud though, no doubts about that.
I agree that the guitar solo is one of the most melodic and beautiful works in rock, especially of that period. But, as a bass player, may I recommend the bass line? A nice staccato 1-5-8 theme that follows the chord changes but otherwise forms a distinct submelody and rhythm.
C# 1-1-5-8 5-8-5-1 Ab 1-1-5-8 5-8-5-5
At least that’s how I remember it.
Thanks so much for that.
I doubt that anyone here is trying to take anything away from Jethro Tull, another great band. A lot of great things happened with rock during that era, and a lot of bands made a lot of great music.
The Eagles are (is) one of those, and Hotel California is one of my favorite tunes, and the guitar work in that solo is, for me, without equal. The word “pure” comes to mind.
Not given the Tull link, imo.
Of course not.
No need to be defensive. 
No one was trying to take anything away from The Eagles either. Plenty of classic songs took inspiration from earlier songs. I just enjoy sharing the Tull video with those who weren’t aware of the inspiration for Hotel California.
I bet even most Zep fans didn’t know about this.
Actually, I was being conversational. 
Ok, I hope this won’t constitute too much a a copyright issue, taken from my 2003 Eagles, the very best of compilation CD liner notes.
Conversations with Don Henly and Glenn Frey. By Cameron Crowe, August 2003
Glenn: I remember De Niro in the last tycoon, he’s talking to some other people in his office. He speaks to them: ‘‘the door opens, the camera is on a person’s feet, he walks across the room, we pan up to the table, he picks up a pack of matches that says ‘the such-and-such club’ on it, strikes a match and lights a cigarette, puts it out, goes over to the window, opens the shade, looks out, the moon is there, what does it mean? Nothing. It’s just the movies.’’ Hotel California is like that. We take this guy and make him like a character in the Magnus, where every time he walks through a door there’s a new version of reality. We wanted to write a song just like it was a movie. This guy is driving across the desert. He’s tired. He’s smokin’*. Comes up over a hill, sees some lights, pulls in. First thing he sees is a really strange guy at the front door, welcoming him: ‘‘come on in.’’ Walks in, and then it becomes Fellini-esque–strange women, effeminate men, shadowy corridors, disembodied voices, debauchery, illusion…’’
*Bolding mine, so he doesn’t reference colitas or marijuana, then again…
Thank you for that, outlierrn. And I’m glad you didn’t post it on “amnesia weekend.”
RR
Aw, you can spoil the rich folks’ fun but injecting a drop of Schillings’ red food dye into a bottle of plain champagne. Instant pink champagne costing not a red cent more! ;)
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Your name put me in mind of a cargo ship that used to dock in Baltimore Harbor. Its name was Bjørnstjerne Bjørnsen (a Norwegian poet). Flustered Longshoremen called it the “Be-jesus Be-Johnson.”
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