Hotel California chords
by The EaglesKey: B Minor
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: 74 bpm
Guitar Tuning: Standard (E A D G B e)
Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Core Chords: Bm, F#7, A, E, G, D, Em
Play-Along Video & Chord Charts
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Play-Along Video
Speed: x0.1
Hotel California
The Relative Major Key of Bm is highlighted - Transpose to any other key.
Bm F#7 A E G D Em F#7
Intro: 4/4 ‖: | | | | | | | :‖
Bm F#7
1. On a dark de-sert high-way Cool wind in my hair
A E
Warm smell of col-i-tas Ris-ing up through the air
G D
Up a-head in the dis-tance I saw a shim-mer-ing light
Em F#7
My head grew hea-vy and my sight grew dim I had to stop for the night
Bm F#7
2. There she stood in the door-way I heard the mis-sion bell
A E
And I was thin-king to my-self This could be Hea-ven or this could be Hell
G D
Then she lit up a can-dle And she showed me the way
Em F#7
There were voi-ces down the cor-ri-dor I thought I heard them say
G D
Chorus: Welcome to the Ho-tel Cal-i-for-nia
F#7 Bm
Such a love-ly place (Such a love-ly place) Such a love-ly face
G D
Plen-ty of room at the Ho-tel Cal-i-for-nia
Em F#7
Any time of year (Any time of year) You can find it here
Bm F#7
3. Her mind is ‘Tif-fa-ny twist-ed’ She got the Mer-ce-des bends (ooh)
A E
She got a lot of pret-ty pret-ty boys She calls friends
G D
How they dance in the court-yard Sweet sum-mer sweat
Em F#7
Some dance to re-mem-ber Some dance to for-get
Bm F#7
4. So I called up the Cap-tain “Please bring me my wine"
A E
He said, "We have-n't had that spi-rit here Since nine-teen six-ty nine"
G D
And still those voi-ces are cal-ling from far a-way
Em F#7
Wake you up in the mid-dle of the night Just to hear them say-ay
G D
Chorus: Welcome to the Ho-tel Cal-i-for-nia
F#7 Bm
Such a love-ly place (Such a love-ly place) Such a love-ly face
G D
They’re liv-in' it up at the Ho-tel Cal-i-for-nia
Em F#7
What a nice sur-prise (what a nice sur-prise) Bring your al-i-bis
Bm F#7
5. Mir-rors on the ceil-ing The pink cham-pagne on ice
A E
And she said "We are all just pris-on-ers here Of our own device"
G D
And in the mas-ter's cham-bers They ga-thered for their feast
Em F#7
They stab it with their steel-y knives But they just can't kill the beast
Bm F#7
6. Last thing I re-mem-ber I was run-ning for the door
A E
I had to find the pas-sage back To the place I was be-fore
G D
"Relax" said the night man "We are pro-grammed to re-ceive
Em F#7
You can check-out a-ny time you like But you can ne-ver leave!"
Bm F#7 A E G D Em F#7
Outro: ‖: | | | | | | | :‖ x4
...repeat to fade or end on Bm
Arrangement Details:
- Key Signature: B Minor - relative to D major (share the same key signature) - 2 sharps (F#, C#)
- Time Signature: 4/4 — Four quarter-note beats per measure
- Tempo: Moderate Rock Beat
- Metronome: ♩ = 74
- Voice Range: E4 - A#5
| Chord Types | Formula | Chords |
|---|---|---|
| Major | 1-3-5 | A, E, G, D |
| Dominant 7th | 1-3-5-b7 | F#7 |
| Minor | 1-b3-5 | Bm, Em |
| sus2 | 1-2-5 | Asus2 |
| 9th | 1-3-5-b7-9 | E9 |
Notes and Playing Tips:
- Level Of Ease: If you're just strumming along, this song is very easy for beginners to play. However, if you'd like to learn the picking pattern and read the guitar tab, it leans more toward intermediate territory.
- The charts include open voicing for all chords which will suit beginners, and some of them will surprise you in terms of how easy they are to play, especially F#7. 💪
- The Intro to this song is probably one of the most famous of all time. It has a very distinct sound, and if you play it on a 12 string guitar and use the same picking style, it sounds amazing.
- Guitar TAB for the first 8 bars looks like this... notice the
slight chord alterations to suit the picking notes, Asus2 and E9, which are all included on the charts above.
- If there are 2 of you playing, one guitarist can play the normal chords in B Minor while the other guitarist plays in the key of E Minor with the capo on the 7th fret... sounds great.
- Beginners: If you haven't learned to play barre chords, or find the open voicings too difficult, you can play in the key of E Minor with easier chords: Em, B7, D, A, C, G, Am.
Don't forget to place a capo on the 7th fret if playing with the video. You will also need to press the 'G' button on the transposer (relative to E Minor).
The Guitar Tab includes 2 chords you may not be familiar with — Dsus2 and A9. The A9 takes some getting used to, but is much easier to play if you barre the first 4 strings on the 2nd fret. This has no effect on the first string, as it is covered by the 2nd finger on the 3rd fret. If you find A9 difficult to play here, simply replace it with A7.
Right-handed Charts:
Left-handed Charts:
- This is a great song to have in your repertoire. It is 'The Eagles' signature song, and with good reason.
Song Details:
- Songwriters: Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Don Henley
- Lyrics Begin: On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair.
- Genre: Rock
- Featured Artists: The Eagles
- Single:
Recorded: 1976
Released: February 22, 1977
B-side: Pretty Maids All in a Row - Album: Hotel California
Recorded: March – October 1976
Released: December 8, 1976
You may also like:
| Song / Artist | Capo | Key | Core Chords |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diamonds and Rust - Joan Baez | +1 | Em | Em, Am, B7, C, G, D, E, Bm7, Fmaj7 |
| Dust In The Wind - Kansas | - | C | C, A, Am, G, D, Dm7, F |
| Have You Ever Seen the Rain? - Willie & Paula Nelson | - | A | A, D, E, F#m |
| Heart Of Gold - Neil Young | - | Em | Em, G, Am, Bm, C, D |
| Peaceful Easy Feeling | - | E | E, A, B7, F#m11 |
| Ventura Highway - America | - | D | Dmaj7, Em7, F#m7, G |
