Billy Corgan Enters Auction to Win Ex Courtney Love's Handwritten ‘Violet’ Lyrics Inspired by Their Relationship

Mar. 15, 2025

Billy Corgan and Courtney Love in April 2006.Photo:Stefanie Keenan/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Stefanie Keenan/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Billy Corganinspired ex-girlfriendCourtney Love’s lyrics for Hole’s single “Violet” — and how he wants a hard copy.

After Ellis Park Wildlife Sanctuary revealed Love’s handwritten words to “Violet” are available in its ongoing auction, the Smashing Pumpkins co-founder, 57, announced he bought a ticket to win the song lyrics — and joked they’re “about a guy I know a little bit.”

“Now, it’s made a lot of press this week that this auction’s going off, so I’ve actually bought my ticket because I’d like to win these lyrics,” said Corgan in an Instagram video on Nov. 17. “I think it’s about a guy I know a little bit, and I’d love to put that on my wall.”

Showing off his ticket, the “1979” artist 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.”

Over the video, Corgan showed off a photo of Love’s handwritten “Violet” lyrics as well as a recent statement toNMElooking back on its inception.

“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 told the outlet earlier this month.

Billy Corgan and Courtney Love in January 2007.Mark Mainz/Getty

Mark Mainz/Getty

Corgan also wrote in text displayed onscreen, “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.”

The pair dated in the early 1990s, before Love got into a relationship with Kurt Cobain and married the late Nirvana rocker in 1992. “Violet” was released on Hole’s 1994Live Through Thisalbum and later became its third single. Corgan and Love briefly reunited in the mid-2000s.

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Billy Corgan and Chloe Mendel Corgan in October 2024.John Lamparski/Getty

John Lamparski/Getty

“Now, both kids are beaming, and it makes it so much fun to share the joy of bringing more love into our family,” added Corgan. “We are truly blessed.”

source: people.com