Legendary rock star enters auction for lyrics iconic ex-girlfriend wrote about him

If your ex-girlfriend wrote a song about you and decided to auction off those lyrics, would you want them for a keepsake? Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan is trying to do precisely that concerning his once ex-girlfriend Courtney Love.
The Hole singer/songwriter announced that she is auctioning off the handwritten lyrics of “Violet,” the opening track on the band’s second album, 1994’s “Live Through This.” The auction is part of a benefit for the wildlife sanctuary Ellis Park, a charity that cares for rescued animals.
“Violet” was partially inspired by Love and Corgan’s brief relationship in 1991. Love recently set the record straight to say that the song is “not just about” Corgan in an interview with NME.
“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,” Love said.
In a video posted to his personal Instagram page, Corgan announced he purchased three tickets to the auction.
“Now, it’s made a lot of press this week that this auction’s going off,” Corgan said. “So I’ve actually bought my ticket, because I’d like to win these lyrics because I think it’s about a guy I know a little bit, and I’d love to put that on my wall.”
Corgan also encouraged fans to buy their own tickets to support a good cause, but said he was “in it to win it.”
Love and Corgan worked together on Hole’s 1998 album “Celebrity Skin,” cowriting some of the album’s biggest hits including the track and “Malibu.” Things took a turn for the worse in 2010 when Corgan Corgan lashed out at Love over songs he had written and claimed were released without his permission for Hole’s final album,” Nobody’s Daughter.”
But in 2018, Love joined Corgan on stage during a Smashing Pumpkins’ 30th anniversary show in Holmdel, showing all was well.
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Murjani Rawls may be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @MurjaniRawls.