Holiday Inn Lyrics
Our hostess is handing the hot towels around
From a terminal gate to a black limousine
It's a ten minute ride to the Holiday Inn
Where you get to the stage where you're not even tired
Kicking your heels till the time comes around
To pick up your bags and head out of town
I've twiddled my thumbs in a dozen odd bands
And you ain't seen nothing till you've been
In a motel baby like the Holiday Inn
With the buildings as big and rooms just the same
And the TV don't work and the French fries are cold
And the room service closed about an hour ago
Its about the tumultuous lifestyle of being in a rock and roll band. You go from one city to the next so fast that everything soon looks like a Holiday Inn. You're either bored in anticipation for the shows or just running along from band to band. Hence the song being called that
The reissue of the album includes a verse of the song that was left off of the recorded version.
Well I don’t even know if it’s Cleveland or Maine. The building’s as big, and the room’s just the same. And the TV don’t work, and the french fires are cold. And room service closed ’bout an hour ago.
To me, this is really interesting, because that single verse changes the tenor of the song. As recored on "Madman," the song comes off as a charming — albeit naive — take by an up-and-coming singer who's beginning to enjoy the trappings of stardom. He's impressed by everything — even a mediocre hotel chain — because it's a big step up from where he's been. But once the quoted verse is included, the song changes from being charming to being a predictable put-down, which isn't nearly as interesting. In fact, I can imagine someone — if not Elton or Bernie themselves — recommending that the verse be removed for that very reason. Does that make sense?
@tbuckley226 On the recent reissue of Madman, Bernie talks about the hotel chain threatening to sue them because of the lyrics. One lyric said “in a motel hell”
@tbuckley226 On the recent reissue of Madman, Bernie talks about the hotel chain threatening to sue them because of the lyrics. One lyric said “in a motel hell”