Billy Corgan wants to own some special lyrics written by Courtney Love, which were influenced by their past together.
Courtney is giving away her handwritten “Violet” lyrics in a raffle to help the Ellis Park Wildlife Sanctuary in Indonesia, a place started by Warren Ellis. The tickets are £10 each or three for £20 until December 15. Corgan shared on social media that he bought three tickets because he really wants to win.
Showing off his ticket in a video, Corgan mentioned that there’s been buzz about the auction and joked about wanting the lyrics because they might be about someone he knows. He’d love to have them on his wall. It’s kind of cool how musicians support causes while having some fun.
“Violet” was the first track on Hole’s famous 1994 album, though it was written three years earlier. People think the song talks about Love’s brief relationship with Corgan. She even called it a “song about a jerk” during a TV performance and made a joke about cursing him to lose his hair.
Love clarified that while the song isn’t only about Corgan, it was inspired by moments like sitting on a fire escape, drinking cheap wine, and taking a Vicodin as the Chicago sun set.
She also said she was being a bit mean on TV just for fun, and that she had to keep the drama going! Love explained more about what inspired “Violet,” mentioning poems by Alexander Pope and Emily Brontë, though she decided not to include everything in the final song.
The song’s rhyme scheme felt too much like copying, she noted, as she tried being ‘method’ but it seemed too much. Love talked about being torn between two boys, symbolizing different sides of her, and mentioned a mysterious line about ‘Danny’s new number,’ which could be about someone named Danny or a dealer known as ‘Bobby Bones.’
In Corgan’s video, he included a note claiming he had a tiny part in writing “Violet.” He said, “[Love] forgot to mention that I wrote one of the heart-rending couplets contained therein. But I will always love this song. Love you Court.”
