Courtney Love’s lyrics for Hole’s single “Violet” were inspired by her ex-boyfriend, Billy Corgan, and now he’s hoping to own a piece of that history. Following the announcement from Ellis Park Wildlife Sanctuary that Love’s handwritten lyrics to the song are up for auction, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman, 57, revealed that he purchased a ticket to win them, joking that the lyrics are “about a guy I know a little bit.”
In an Instagram video posted on Nov. 17, Corgan explained, “I think it’s about a guy I know a little bit, and I’d love to put that on my wall.” Holding up his ticket, he added, “Anyway, support this if you want to, Ellispark.org, and you can enter the auction as well, but you gotta buy a ticket. I got three tickets for 20 bucks. So, I am in it to win it.”
Billy Corgan buys tickets to win handwritten lyrics from Courtney Love’s iconic song
The video also featured a photo of Love’s handwritten lyrics to “Violet,” along with a recent statement Love made to NME, reflecting on the song’s origins. “It’s 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 bejeweled amethyst sky,” she recalled earlier this month.
Corgan humorously added text in the video, noting, “She forgot to mention that I wrote one of the heart-rending couplets contained therein. But I will always love this song. Love you Court.” Corgan and Love were romantically involved in the early 1990s, before Love married Kurt Cobain in 1992. “Violet” was released as the third single from Hole’s 1994 Live Through This album. The two briefly reconnected in the mid-2000s.
In August, Corgan exclusively shared with PEOPLE that he and his wife, Chloé Mendel Corgan, are expecting their third child together. They are already parents to Philomena, 5½, and Augustus, 8½.
Corgan described the moment their family found out, saying, “While Augustus was overjoyed, Clementine, the younger of the two, asked if the baby was made already and shed a few tears of concern, which was honestly adorable.” He added, “Now, both kids are beaming, and it makes it so much fun to share the joy of bringing more love into our family. We are truly blessed.”
