 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsEnglish UsageBritish EnglishESL Teaching Learnglish.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Discussion Groups / British English / July 2004What is a "mission bell" ?
Hello one and all! Could anyone enlighten me on this question that is buggin' me ever since I first listened to "Hotel California" by the Eagles? There are many other rock songs that mention a "mission bell". As a German native speaker I have no idea what this could be. Thanks in advance for your help. Stefan > Hello one and all! > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Thanks in advance for your help. > Stefan It probably should be "mission church bell". In California, most of the old churches would have been mission (i.e. missionary) churches by the Spanish (i.e. Roman Catholic) Church to the indigenous population. They would have a bell (whether Sanctus or Angelus, we could discuss further :-) ). Hence "mission church", and "mission bell".  SignatureJohn Briggs >> Hello one and all! >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> Thanks in advance for your help. >> Stefan > It probably should be "mission church bell". In California, most of the old > churches would have been mission (i.e. missionary) churches by the Spanish > (i.e. Roman Catholic) Church to the indigenous population. They would have > a bell (whether Sanctus or Angelus, we could discuss further :-) ). Hence > "mission church", and "mission bell". The lyrics to "Hotel California" don't make too much sense - they're the sort of lyrics popular in that drug-inspired time, which put together vague images to which you are supposed to give your own interpretation. However (without having ever really thought about these lyrics) I've always supposed the Hotel California of the song to be a brothel, in which case the "mission bell" is perhaps meant to indicate the singer being tempted by the "heaven" of the prostitute but having a warning ringing in his head from a background of education in a mission school that illicit sex leads to hell. Matthew Huntbach >>> Hello one and all! >>> [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > ringing in his head from a background of education in a mission school > that illicit sex leads to hell. We all thought that "Hotel California" was intended as a wonderful allegory of life in, well, California - or at least La-La Land. It turns out, however, that it was based on an actual (rather strange) hotel that the band had stayed in! (Most people ask about "colitas".) SignatureJohn Briggs There is a mission, one of the many you can find in southern california, texas, new mexico - and, like most missions, this one has a bell tower, and a bell. This image contributes to giving Hotel California the feeling of an old forgotten little town, like one you would find in Zorro's southern California setting. Mission bells... candles... you know. A great song, though. Thanks for all the answers! BTW: What are "colitas" ? -- Stefan Pawlata > Thanks for all the answers! > BTW: What are "colitas" ? It seems to translate as "little tips" or "buds" - presumably of the marijuana plant (Cannabis sativa) - where the tetrahydrocannabinol is most concentrated. Now aren't you glad you asked? :-) SignatureJohn Briggs > > Thanks for all the answers! > > BTW: What are "colitas" ? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > -- > John Briggs Oh yes, very enlightening indeed! :-) Thanks Stefan >>>Thanks for all the answers! >>>BTW: What are "colitas" ? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Oh yes, very enlightening indeed! :-) I came across a translation in one of the online Spanish-English dictionaries (I forget which one) which said that "colita" is Spanish slang for what the British call a "willy" - somehow I don't think that's what it means in the song. ;-) Regards, Einde O'Callaghan > I came across a translation in one of the online Spanish-English > dictionaries (I forget which one) which said that "colita" is Spanish > slang for what the British call a "willy" - somehow I don't think that's > what it means in the song. ;-) The Dictionary of the Real Academia Espanola (http://www.rae.es/) gives two definitions: 1. the coccix (Costa Rica and Honduras) 2. a footnote (Honduras) I expect that the slang versions haven't been approved yet. Giles. > There is a mission, one of the many you can find in southern california, > texas, new mexico - and, like most missions, this one has a bell tower, and [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > A great song, though. "Hotel California" is about life in the music industry in So. California. http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/hotel.htm |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.