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