The stage is set, please take your seats, it's a show you won't soon forget The latrine's down the hall, past the refreshments, by the exits where nurses go blacken their lungs Chains seal the doors at all of the wings Though the doctors are in on it, cops won't catch wind of it 'till this place is flooded in flames In this hotel California guests wear their best—which are white matching sets of straps and slacks Why's the raven like the writing desk? The combine holds more behind their games of chess Checkerboards and cigarettes Cause behind closed doors Doctors see patients as specimens, gurneys, their cutting boards And there's no cure Their attention's detached while dosing their rats with precise choreography Don't judge too fast their intentions are masked behind deception Don't applaud now Wait 'till they tell you to, you'll know by their queue When patients start hacking, unaware of what's happening No one can stop what they do In this hotel California guests wear their best—which are white matching sets of straps and slacks Why's the raven like the writing desk? The combine holds more behind their games of chess Checkerboards and cigarettes Cause behind closed doors Doctors see patients as specimens, gurneys, their cutting boards In this hotel California guests wear their best—which are white matching sets of straps and slacks Why's the raven like the writing desk? The combine holds more behind their games of chess Checkerboards and cigarettes