Hotel California

A song by the Eagles called Hotel California is an old song but its also deffinately a classic. I interpret the song to be about a man so drowned in fame and the life that comes with it that he dies and arrives at a place that he is unfamiliar with. In the song the man has to stop on the highway which signals his death. The "shimmering light in the distance" is when he passes over. The song even says "This could be heaven or this could be hell," pointing out that he doesn't know where he's arrived. Then he talks of the woman with her possesions and her "pretty boys" which is a sign of where he is at.
Now the song is getting near the end and the man says, "We are all just prisoners here Of our own demise," and he is realizing he put himself there. He knows he ended up in hell due to his own actions and decisions. Since he has realized his mistakes, he asks to leave but the response he gets are those famous lines, "You can check out any time you like But you can never leave." These lyrics mean that now he has repent for his time on earth but he cannot leave hell once he had arrived.
I don't listen to many old songs, but this is one of my favorites. It has a nice mellow feel to it and the Eagles aren't a bad band themselves.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGebTSnjd00