What if, back when Disney's Alice in Wonderland was in theaters, a girl walked out of a showing, with no memories except of herself as Alice of Wonderland? That's the premise of the short story—warning: some crass language—"The Cheshire" by Bill Kte'pi, and the entirely clean "The Girl That's Never Been" was based on that short story.
The lyrics do a fantastic job capturing the essence of the short story. Both also share a sense of ambiguity, much like that (very violent) Spanish movie Pan's Labyrinth that came out a few years ago. Did those magical things actually happen, or is the main girl insane? Any of the aforementioned tales can be interpreted either way.
It's a fascinating story, if probably a bit unnerving to some folks. Michelle Dockrey (yes, the same lady who sang backup to Seanan McGuire in the live cover of "Still Catch the Tide") sings clearly with her voice that well suits folk music. (I'm reminded of Candice of Blackmore's Night, actually.)
She does a good job at expressing some emotion while keeping the lyrics easily heard and comprehensible. The focus is the story being told by the song, and the music—guitar—is intentionally a basic guitar that just provides a foundation for the song to be built on. (And that's easily duplicated at restaurant concerts and fantasy conventions, for that matter.)
Overall, it's a song that you'll probably like or not based on if you like the story being told.
As of this writing, you can actually get this song free from Escape Key.
Lyrics: 5/5
Music: 4/5
Vocal(s): 5/5
Overall: 9/10
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