Some years ago i read Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys for a women’s literature class that i was sitting in on. It is an imagined prequel to Jane Eyre, focusing on Bertha, the so-called “Mad Woman in the Attic”. Years later it came to me to write a song about Bertha, partially inspired by Wide Sargasso Sea, though with a somewhat different ending.
This is the result of that effort. As is often the case with my songwriting, i am happy with the lyrics, but (as usual) i am not completely satisfied with the melody. However, i am proud to say that this song was named a finalist in the lyrics category of the 2022 Great American Songwriting contest.