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...

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
The stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast

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

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

ORIGINAL: PandaXpress

i say cult but im not sure
they say

they say no alcholal but then he talks about

how do they have pink champagne if they never had spirits since 1969

and an insane asylums dont have mirrors rite


but

could be talkin about an insane asylume becasue people who are unstable are prisoners of their own devices though
and that line can also be talkin about the doctors and others trying to help everyone but u cant really cure someone thats menatally ill

most cults just try to get their message out and change people which is likewhat they do in and asylum also

if it was an insane asylume why are the inmates dancing around at night in the court yard and u cant say they escapeed because later the song talks about the people in charge in the master chamber gathering for a feast

the last verse

is more of an asylume becasue they are talkin about being reprogrammed and that always familiar line you can check out anytime but in reality u cant leave, like u can never be cured of ur problems casue its always in ur mind

but

a cult always have reprograming and u cnat easly leave a cult also


i say its more of an cult

but it could be a cult asylum

ORIGINAL: QuattroGT74

But friends say that is too obvious. Too obvious??? I mean, it is supposed to be a song not a freakin' riddle! I stand by cult especially after reading your breakdown.

ORIGINAL: KarlMarx

Sounds like someone on death row...

On a dark desert highway
Cool wind in my hair
The 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
There's plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year, you can find it here

Her mind is definitely twisted
She's got her Mercedes Benz
She's got a lotta 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 1969"
And still those voices they're 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're livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceilling, the pink champaign on ice
And she said "We are all just prisoners here of our own device"
In the masters chambers they're gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knifes but they just can't kill the beast

Last thing I remember, I was runnin' for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
"Good night" said the night man "We are programmed to receive
You can check out anyytime you like, but you can never leave"

I don't think it's about drugs although that is a very good guess and I can easily see how one might be led to think that. But it is actually about a guy who dies in a car accident on the highway and the Hotel California is a form of heaven. The part where he talks about driving with the wind in his hair and then his head becoming heavy means that he fell asleep while driving with the top down. He wrecked and was killed. The woman at the door with the candle is most likely an angel who greets those entering heaven similar to Saint Peter. It's just about his feelings about the place and how he gets freaked out when he realizes that he's dead. He tries to escape, but he can't because he's dead. "You can check out anytime you like [You can die at any point], but you can never leave [You can't return to earth once you've left it]."