Spaceboy
"That’s about my little brother. He’s an interesting character. It’s kind of about how he’s different. He has physical handicap, it’s hard to explain. He has a rare chromosomal disorder, it gives him a some what different genetic make up. He has different physical and mental problems and yet somehow by all accounts, I’m physically and mentally OK. But I feel our lives are the similar. (Similar in the way that we are both) Freaks of nature, freaks of society, I always keep going back to something by Henry Miller. No matter how much he smiled, told jokes, shook hands, patted people on the back. People still looked at him funny, they still sensed something wasn’t right. I’ve always felt that way, that no matter how normal I appear, I was treated differently. "
1994-Pumpkin that Never Arrived
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ATN: Can you talk about some of the things that inspired particular songs? Like "Tear," for example?
Corgan: No. Honestly, I'm being serious. I usually don't talk about what went into songs, what songs are about, what I was trying to say. Those are the three taboos.
ATN: You want people to figure it out themselves or to interpret it themselves?
Corgan: Well, that's a general way to put it, but at the same time, I found that when I would explain ... Like, I had a song on Siamese Dream called "Space Boy" that's about my brother. So, for a year and a half, every article mentioned that I had a ... And then it gets changed. My brother's not Mongoloid, but he has a chromosomal disorder. So then it turned into he's Mongoloid. 'Here's a song about his Mongoloid brother.'
So when I said it in Rolling Stone or something, then a year later, you're reading about 'Billy and his Mongoloid brother.' It's so far removed from what I originally said. So if you don't give the original thing and there's no echo to echo off of, so ... I'm not trying to play any games with people's heads. I'm just saying, I don't like what comes of it.
1998-ATN
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I have a younger brother who has a rare genetic chromosomal disorder. he's not a mongoloid, he's not retarded, but he's definitely different. He's like 17 now. And there's alot of things where I identify with him, cause I went through very similar things - not because of anything genetic, but my whole life I was told there was something wrong with me, that I was different. I mean, all I ever heard was, 'You're a freak; you're different, you're not like everyone else'"
Nick Wise book