The Eagles spent a lot of the 70s having hit after hit at radio. Not only did the band have outstanding vocals and musicianship, but they were also really talented songwriters. These three songs by Eagles were all massive hits, with members of the band writing each of them.
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“Hotel California”
Arguably Eagles’ biggest hit, “Hotel California” is the title track of the band’s fifth studio album. A 1977 single, Don Henley, Don Felder, and Glenn Frey are the writers of the iconic tune.
“Hotel California” says, “There she stood in the doorway / I heard the mission bell / And I was thinkin’ 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 / Plenty of room at the Hotel California / Any time of year / You can find it here‘.”
“Those lyrics employ what Glenn used to call ‘the perfect ambiguity,’ and are open to a wide array of interpretations. And we’ve seen some doozies,” Henley tells Rolling Stone. “But the song has somehow resonated all around the globe, even with people who live in countries with which our government does not have the best of relations; people whose first language is not English.”
“Lyin’ Eyes”
Henley and Frey are the two writers on the 1975 single, “Lyin’ Eyes“. From their One Of These Nights record, “Lyin’ Eyes” became a Top 10 single at country radio. It also hit the Top 5 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.
A song about infidelity, “Lyin’ Eyes” says, “So she tells him she must go out for the evening / To comfort an old friend who’s feelin’ down / But he knows where she’s goin’ as she’s leavin’ / She is headed for the cheatin’ side of town / You can’t hide your lyin’ eyes / And your smile is a thin disguise / I thought by now you’d realize / There ain’t no way to hide your lyin’ eyes.”
Lynn Anderson recorded her own version of Eagles’ “Lyin’ Eyes” in 1976.
“I Can’t Tell You Why”
Frey, Henley, and Timothy B. Schmit are the three writers of “I Can’t Tell You Why”. The song appears on Eagles’ 1980 The Long Run record.
“I Can’t Tell You Why” begins with, “Look at us baby, up all night / Tearing our love apart / Aren’t we the same two people / Who lived through years in the dark? / Every time I try to walk away / Something makes me turn around and stay / And I can’t tell you why.”
Frey later said that he considers “I Can’t Tell You Why” one of the best songs by Eagles.
Photo by Fotos International/Getty Images
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