On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air

SharkBoy and I hit the corner of Gerrard and Woodbine and stand in front of the TTC stop, waiting for the streetcar. With us is a well dress couple who, probably like us, are coming home from a seasonal house party.

Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim

The stop is just outside a divey bar – the kind that generally fills up when a major sports event or end-of-the-month cheques come out.

I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;

The four of us are doing little dances to keep warm.

I heard the mission bell

The woman of the other couple notices a solo guy standing in the front window of the bar. He’s holding a mike and staring at a karaoke machine. The monitor is showing the next song, but the musical lead in is really long. We should totally sing this, the woman says.

And I was thinking to myself,
this could be heaven or this could be hell

We start to sing like it’s Xmas. I haven’t heard this song since my high school days (it reminds me of drunk cottage parties) and I’m amazed at how I stumble over the quick lyrics.

Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say…

We sing the song, add some falsetto harmonies and the odd comment (“Any time of year, you can drink a beer!”). The song ends and we applaud and get a nod from the singer. As if on cue the street car comes. We say nothing else to each other as we board the car, the awkward Toronto attitude killing any further conversation, falling like a curtain. Moment over.

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