[Intro – warm piano, soft acoustic guitar and subtle strings, intimate and nostalgic, slow emotional build] [Verse 1 – warm mature male vocal, conversational and affectionate, restrained instrumentation] It was nineteen eighty-eight when I first looked at you, and something in that moment changed me through and through. I didn’t know what life had planned for us back then, I only knew I had to see you once again. You were so beautiful, and I was simply me, no prince upon a white horse riding gallantly. But you saw something in me I had never seen, and ever since that day you’ve somehow guided me. [Chorus – full band gradually enters, melodic emotional lift, strong but warm vocal] You became my whole life, wifey mine, and that’s how it will be till the end of our time. We have laughed and we’ve argued through sunshine and rain, but the fire between us kept burning the same. And if someone had shown me our whole life in advance, every joy, every struggle, every twist of circumstance, I would smile back at you, already knowing my line: “I would choose you again, wifey mine.” [Verse 2 – pull back slightly, warm storytelling, piano and acoustic guitar with subtle rhythm section] Then our girl came along, and suddenly we were three, and the years started flying more quickly than they should be. There were bills, parent meetings and working every shift, but somehow through it all we kept our love adrift. I know I wasn’t always that easy to reach, and there were days when living with me tested your peace. But whenever my shift ended and they finally let me go, all I wanted was you and our girl waiting at home. [Chorus – stronger than first chorus, full band and strings, emotional but not overblown] You became my whole life, wifey mine, and that’s how it will be till the end of our time. We have laughed and we’ve argued through sunshine and rain, but the fire between us kept burning the same. And if someone had shown me our whole life in advance, every joy, every struggle, every twist of circumstance, I would smile back at you, already knowing my line: “I would choose you again, wifey mine.” [Bridge – music drops down, intimate piano and strings, close vulnerable vocal, slowly building] Now it’s nearly thirty-nine years since that day, and we’ve gathered some wrinkles and a little more grey. We had days full of laughter and days that could sting, but through joy and through madness we faced everything. And if I could go back to the day when we met, without knowing the heartache or challenges ahead, I would walk up to you with the same faith inside, [Pause – instruments almost disappear] without hesitation. [Short pause] Without turning aside. [Final Chorus – powerful emotional climax, full band, soaring vocal, rich strings and electric guitar] You became my whole life, wifey mine, and that’s how it will be till the end of our time. We have laughed and we’ve argued through sunshine and rain, but the fire between us kept burning the same. [Music begins to fall away – vocal becomes intimate] And when our hair has turned white and the years have gone by, and our bodies remember both the laughter and cries, I will still look at you and think quietly: [Brief pause – almost spoken, tender and proud] **“There she is. There’s my lady.”** [Outro – piano and soft strings, intimate, emotional, no big climax] And if someone had shown me our whole life in advance, every joy, every struggle, every twist of circumstance, I would smile back at you, already knowing my line: [Final lines – instruments almost disappear, voice exposed and sincere] **“I would choose you again. wifey mine.”** [Instrumental outro – gentle piano and strings, allow the final words to linger, slow fade]
