Now that I'm an old woman and my face no longer fair,
I spend most of my empty days here in this wooden chair.
After all these years together, it's clear he never cared,
He never speaks of his love or the passion that we shared.

I remember his young body, the way he paid court to me,
Now he spends his days out under that rotten cottonwood tree.
I'll never let him see my pain, my indifference will be my shield,
I will hide away my love for him, I'm determined not to yield.

If only once he'd say the words that I long to hear,
All my pain and loneliness would simply disappear.
We could be so happy here, in this house we built so long ago,
But I know he doesn't love me or he would have told me so.

I've loved her now for more than fifty years and she's been a perfect wife,
I don't know why she acts this way, she knows she's the center of my life.
Her beauty lights up our home and she brings a world of joy to me,
I wish I could make her happy again, the way we used to be.

Her love for me has vanished and she never laughs anymore,
She used to love to touch me and always kissed me at the door.
I sit each day and remember the happy years of long ago,
And wish that I could bring her back, the loving girl I used to know.

Under this rotten cottonwood tree, I sit and stare into space,
Remembering her as my beautiful bride, filled with youthful grace.
She must know how much I love her, I've tried to show her in every way,
It's just that the words "I love you" are impossible for me to say.