I see my wife working, ironin' my shirts And my mind goes to another day And to another woman who might have been my wife If things hadn't turned out this way Lord knows I love her but I often wonder If fate should pull back the blind How would my wife feel if she could see The woman in the back of my mind? Does she do things fancy, does she have a family? Is she as happy as I? Does she spend her afternoons just playing bridge Or baking her children a pie? And I often wonder if she thinks of me When she hears those old church bell's chime Though it's been long ago at times I miss her so The woman in the back of my mind Suddenly I come back to right here and now And the dream that I've seen come to life And I hope she's as happy with somebody else As I am with my loving wife I might have been wrong but it's been so long And things work out in time But I'd like to say I'm sorry some day To the woman in the back of my mind