What are the concepts portrayed in the song "Hotel California", and what do metaphors do to help describe them?

With 'Hotel California', there are constant phrases which sound good in the song, but do not strike an instant meaning in your mind. This is due to the use of metaphors. As it turns out, many of these phrases have links to drugs, drug addiction, the cons of California and the modern hotel industry. In the beginning of the song, drugs are evident, with use of metaphors like "cool wind in my hair" to idolise the happiness and carefreeness that drugs often provide. "Warm smell of colitas" has a complicated origin but in fact, refers to the tip of the marijuana branch, which is rich in sap. When he gets to 'Hotel California' the narrator says "This could be heaven or this could be hell", which I believe is the start of his addiction, and he is asking himself where it might lead him. He could also be making a gamble on staying at the hotel, since he doesn't know what level of quality it may offer. 'Welcome to the Hotel California' is a welcoming to either the hotel (if being a realist), or to drug addiction (if interpreting the metaphors). 'Anytime of year' refers to how drugs are always constant, and if you ever need a sanctuary , drugs will provide it. The second verse of the song refers to an old woman, who is (or was) bound to a life of luxury, as 'Tiffany-twisted' refers to Tiffany&Co. 'Voices are calling from far away' means that when he tries to stray away from drugs, the people at the hotel call him back to addiction. 'Bring your alibis', 'mirrors on the ceiling' and 'prisoners here of our own device' all refer to the dark sides of California, Hollywood and the rock and roll industry. They relate to how you must be careful in the Music business, its a dog eat dog world, and you mustn't fall into depression, drug addiction or self-destruction. I think that 'they stab it with their steely knives' describes how they try to break away and kill the drug addict inside themselves. 'You can check-out anytime you like, but you can never leave!' sums up the song by saying you can try, but once you have started an addiction, it is near impossible to stop. Overall, the song provides strong moral lessons in drug addiction and the rock and roll industry, relying heavily on metaphors to support the concepts literally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0G1Ucw5HDg

"Hotel California"

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 place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (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 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 place)
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (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 check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave! "

Water

My bare foot touches the snow.

The moist crystals shatter like tears,

They scream but no one hears.

My bare legs follow the trail.

The vail cascades like a white waterfall,

It pulls me down in its frigid flow.

My bare shoulders feel the cold.

The snowflakes fall like a torrent of feathers,

They freeze me to the bone.

My bare face emerges onto the lake.

The forest recedes behind me like a wave of flanking soldiers,

It abandons me in the vast open.

My bare feet feel the waves.

The ripples lick my toes like the tongues of hounds,

They swamp and saturate my foundations.

My bare legs embrace the water.

The lake engulfs me like a pelicans mouth,

It lures me into it's vast blue beauty.

My bare face breaks the surface.

The sea of life swallows me like Mother Nature herself.

I toss and turn under the surface.

And I am finally reborn into the lifeline that has surrounded me for ever.

Five Minutes' Advice on the Bath Waters

Five Minutes' Advice was a book published in 1843 by Sims & Sons. The general idea was to promote the well-being the roman baths and spas in the city of Bath could provide. It goes into depth about how rejuvenating and revitalising the actual Baths, waters, products and overall experience were, explaining reasons, and giving examples. The book also advertises how the Bath experience can be brought to the home, if the right products are purchased. It also includes actual advertisements, which advertise various pills and potions.

From the image, I would suppose that this is definitely not a modern piece of text, due to the layout (i.e; the big fancy 'D'), and the rather proper use of language e.g; 'and to their successful employment...', 'advantages which are daily experienced'. This differs from modern health, well-being and medical scripts, as the author's use of explanations are very vague, and although it gives 'explanations' to support what 'facts' it contains, these are still very vague, and are probably the result of guesswork. Modern equivalents of Five Minutes' Advice are all facts, that are simple and very clearly understandable, so anyone can read them for medical advice, and they are all backed up by scientific experiments and discoveries, with references. People have taken this essentiality of easy-access to such a high level, that today, most of what you would find in a book is on the internet, so you can find out what you need to, straight away. Five Minutes' Advice does have some sense in what its purpose was, to advertise the roman Baths. And in its day, when medical science was nearly non-existent, it's content was easily believed by the unknowing public. Therefore, Five Minutes' Advice was altogether rather smart, as it lured people to the Baths and to their products even when nobody knew what was true or false.

An Introduction to English

English is a germanic language. It and many other Germanic languages share common words, such as cheese and boat. Fresian is one of these languages, and is till used in the Netherlands and Northern Europe.. The languages originated from Germanic invaders. The tribes invaded England, and the languages carried on. They also merged with the native tongues of the Celts and Britons, forming new languages altogether. Anglo-Saxon was the most prominent language that emerged. Welsh is the closest language currently being spoken to Celtic.  Many common words have carried on into modern English, such as 'and', 'is', 'the' and 'am'. 

The English language derives its roots from more than just two languages, however. Christian missionaries arriving in England as early as the 7th Century, did not only bring with them the ways of Christianity, but also the International language of the Christian church, Latin. English derives many of its nouns and verbs from Latin, and Latin and many other source languages contributed to the layering of words that is a main part of English still today. 

English also derives its letters and script from Latin, which of course, is a very major part of the language, allowing it to be written and read. If it were't for this introduction of written letters, I might well be writing this in an runes, which would appear very different to English as we know it. Latin also introduced grammar, verbs, literature and books. 

With this new formed language, poems and books were written, with both fictional and historical content. Around this time the first records of prayers, songs, battles and happenings were produced. In battles between the Vikings and Danes, English absorbed more of its content from the languages of invaders. 

English gained compound words as different tribes intermarried and traded. Many common names for people, places and things were formed from the intermingling of the various tongues. Many original words are still spoken everyday in the north of England. Old Norse is thought to be the biggest contributor to English. 

Overall, English's early roots have many origins, ranging from old native languages, such as Celtic, to more modern languages which have over time, made up the layering of English, such as Latin and Norse. English may be very different now to how it was 1000 years ago, but the languages are all connected, and we can see similarities between the source languages and modern English. 

Bibliography - The Adventure of English (BBC) - (1) Birth of a Language - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGYiM_ZnjAc