Put aside the meaning for a moment, my favorite thing about this song is how it builds up to the climax. Two times they start to the pinacle and then seemingly take a rest. It's almost as if we're supposed to use this as an intermission to consider our sins. The first time, to consider what we did to the mountains. ("Somebody laid the mountains low
while the town got high "). The second time to consider the Pacific Coast (the "hazy sun, sinking in the sea.")
Finally, they start the trip a third time. This time with the suggestion of further westward expansion to Hawaii. This time, however, the Eagles don't take the rest. No rest is appropriate because there is nowhere else to go from here. The third time is a constant crescendo. The music intensifies as more instruments are added. The lyrics intensify and certainly Henley's singing intensifies. This time, the Eagles finish the story with the moral (the last two lyrics).
Put down the lyrics and just close your eyes. The message will wash over you in the music and instrumentation as well as the lyrics.
Put aside the meaning for a moment, my favorite thing about this song is how it builds up to the climax. Two times they start to the pinacle and then seemingly take a rest. It's almost as if we're supposed to use this as an intermission to consider our sins. The first time, to consider what we did to the mountains. ("Somebody laid the mountains low while the town got high "). The second time to consider the Pacific Coast (the "hazy sun, sinking in the sea.")
Finally, they start the trip a third time. This time with the suggestion of further westward expansion to Hawaii. This time, however, the Eagles don't take the rest. No rest is appropriate because there is nowhere else to go from here. The third time is a constant crescendo. The music intensifies as more instruments are added. The lyrics intensify and certainly Henley's singing intensifies. This time, the Eagles finish the story with the moral (the last two lyrics).
Put down the lyrics and just close your eyes. The message will wash over you in the music and instrumentation as well as the lyrics.