Hole's song was inspired by Courtney Love's relationship with Billy Corgan.
Billy Corgan is looking to win a very personal piece of alternative rock history: Courtney Love's handwritten lyrics to “ Purple » by Hole, which were partly inspired by their relationship.
Courtney Love donated these lyrics to a raffle as part of a fundraiser for the Ellis Park Wildlife Sanctuary in Indonesia (co-founded by Bad Seeds member and Nick Cave collaborator Warren Ellis). Tickets are currently on sale for ÂŁ10 each (or ÂŁ20 for three) until December 15. Corgan, for his part, shared a video on social media to promote the fundraiser and confirm that he had purchased three tickets, because “ I'm here to win “.
In the clip, Corgan shows his ticket and says: “ This week there has been a lot of talk about this sale. So I bought my ticket because I would like to win these words. I think it's about a guy I know a little and I'd like to put it on my wall. »
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“ Purple is the opening track from Hole's 1994 album, Live Through This. It was written three years previously, before the band began touring to promote their debut album, Pretty on the Inside. Corgan and Love briefly dated in the early 1990s, leading many people to believe that ” Purple » spoke about their relationship. Love reinforced this legend on the show Later… With Jools Hollandwhen she presented “ Purple » like a “ song about an idiot ”, before launching: “ I cast a spell on him and now he's losing his hair “.
Courtney Love recently clarified things in a statement shared with NME after donating the words of “ Purple » in the raffle: “ It's not just about Billy Corgan, as many might assume. It's about sitting on the fire escape of her apartment, sipping cheap wine and taking a Vicodin (ah, youth!) while the Chicago sun sets, leaving behind a sky of amethyst decorated with precious stones. Sometimes I just channel what comes. I realize my comment on Jools Holland's show was a bit mean… »
Love went on to reveal other inspirations behind “ Purple “, including Alexander Pope's poem, The Dunciadas well as a poem by Emily BrontĂ« (although Love admitted that she had ” finally decided to scratch » this part): “ The rhymes are good, but it sounds too much like an imitation. (…) The song also addresses being caught between two boys, representing the angel and the devil in me, as well as my own nature. One line mentions “Danny's new number”, referring to either Goldberg or a drug dealer, another Danny, known as “Bobby Bones”, who Flea must remember. »
In his video, Billy Corgan also included a short text in which he claims to have made a small, uncredited contribution to “ Purple » : « She forgot to mention that I wrote one of the heartbreaking verses in there. But I will always love this song. »
