Martha's Foolish Ginger

"I started writing this one years ago, when I was close to the water, on tour somewhere. I had only a seed idea of it, but it has stayed with me for a while now. On the Lottapianos Tour during the summer of 2003, when we were in San Francisco, I was by the bay again. The song began to come back to me. Once again I began to understand the female character I needed to embody, I was able to finish the piece, but a real turning point was when I was able to see the character's boat, which she called Martha's Foolish Ginger: sailing out of the bay and into the Pacific Ocean." [Tori Amos: Piece by Piece]

"I've got one song I've just finished which only had a title - 'Martha's Foolish Ginger' - and a chorus: "If those harbour lights had just been half a mile inland who knows what I would have done". I've actually been working on this song for eight years but couldn't figure out how to finish it. Then I suddenly realised the title was the name of her boat. And with that it was liberated, unlocked and everything came clear!" [Word (UK) - February 2005]