In a very full-circle moment, Billy Corgan could end up winning the handwritten lyrics to the Hole song “Violet.”
As previously reported, Courtney Love contributed the lyrics to a raffle benefiting Ellis Park, a wildlife sanctuary in Indonesia founded by Warren Ellis of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. As for why Corgan would be interested, “Violet” has long been thought to have been about Love’s relationship with the Smashing Pumpkins frontman, whom she dated in the early ’90s before she went on to marry Kurt Cobain.
“I’d like to win these lyrics because I think it’s about a guy I know a little bit about,” Corgan says in an Instagram video. “I’d love to put that on my wall.”
Love seemingly confirmed “Violet” was about Corgan when she introduced the song as being about a “jerk” during a 1995 TV performance, quipping, “I hexed him now he’s losing his hair.”
In an interview with NME 30 years later to promote the raffle, Love shared that “Violet” is “not just about Billy Corgan, as many might assume.”
“It’s about sitting on the fire escape of his flat, sipping cheap wine and taking a Vicodin (oh, to be young!) while the Chicago sun sets, leaving behind a bejewelled amethyst sky,” Love said.
Should you, like Corgan, be interested in the handwritten “Violet” lyrics, the raffle is open through Dec. 15.
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