I write the songs, I write the songs

Following his musical heart has been trying for Edgar Bronfman Jr., the Seagram heir, media insider and sometime lyricist, whose career has had all the contours of one of his love songs.

He’s been up. He’s been down. He’s dumped partners and courted them. Observers shook their heads three years ago, for example, when he dropped the staid and profitable Seagram liquor empire for flashy Vivendi, a utility-turned-media concern. It looked like infatuation:

Like a brief desert rain

like the air that remains

making everything suddenly new

Oh baby and like the light in your eyes

as if you and I made a world that was only for two

(from “Whenever There Is Love,” co-credited to “Sam Roman” -- a.k.a. Bronfman)

Passion didn’t turn to profit, though. He lost a fortune. But last week, he was back in the game. He and a group of investors laid down $2.6 billion to buy Warner Music. Will it be a match?

Just believe in me

I will make you see

All the things that your heart needs to know

I’ll be waiting for you....

I’m the one who wants to love you more ...

Whatever it takes we’ll find a way

(from “To Love You More,” co-credited to “Junior Miles,” a.k.a. Bronfman)

In Bronfman’s case, “whatever it takes” is expected to include his own contribution of $250 million, which wins him a spot at the helm of the music labels that have been home to acts from Led Zeppelin to Madonna. It’s probably best to wait a few beats before cueing “Stairway to Heaven.”