The Best That I Could Do

...Miriam Mae Miller Manwiller, 1917-2006....

(V1)
She was standing at the high school dance, in her sister's hand-me-downs,
He was looking for distraction, when he saw her turn around,
So he asked her for a dance or two, and he pulled her across the gym,
And she stumbled nearly every dance, as she tried to follow him,

(C1)
She said I must tell you the truth,
That dancing I was doing there with you, was the best that I could do,

(V2)
From the wedding day the bad luck came, they were always in the red,
He was distant, he was angry, but she blamed herself instead,
And on the anniversary she found out, he’d been with someone new,
So she sat him down and to talk it out, but she took the blame there too,

(C2)
She said you must tell me the truth,
But if making love with me was 2nd best, it's the best that I could do,

(Br)
To have and to hold until death,
She took those vows to heart, and felt she was blessed,
Getting no credit, accepting all blame,
All for the privilege of sharing his name...

(V3)
Now she's lying on the clinic bed, and her eyes are growing dim,
Two years now of the illness, but 68 with him,
Now he holds her hand and asks her, in a shaky, worried voice,
Out of all the men you could have picked, do you regret your choice?

(C3)
To have and to hold until death,
No, her very first complaint would not be her last breath,
But she could not tell him the truth,
So she said this life that I am leaving now with you... it was the best that I could do.

• Bobby Messano - acoustic guitar