Courtney Love wants to make one thing clear about the Hole song “Violet”: it’s “not just about Billy Corgan.”
Love dated the Smashing Pumpkins frontman in the early ’90s before she went on to marry Kurt Cobain. During a 1995 performance of “Violet” on the British show Later… with Jools Holland, Love introduced the song as being about a “jerk, I hexed him now he’s losing his hair,” seemingly in reference to Corgan.
Speaking now to NME about “Violet,” Love shares, “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 bejewelled amethyst sky,” she continues.
And yes, Love does indeed remember what she said about “Violet” back in 1995.
“Sometimes I just channel whatever comes,” Love says. “I realize my comment on Jools Holland was a bit mean – I was just being b****y beefy. But someone has to uphold the standards of good faith beef!”
Love is raffling off handwritten lyrics of “Violet” in support of Ellis Park, a wildlife sanctuary in Indonesia founded by Warren Ellis of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
“Ultimately, nothing matters more than animals, including humans,” Love says.
The raffle is open now through Dec. 15.