For years I had played and sang "Always on My Mind"  at family picnics and parties because Willie Nelson was one of my mom's favorite artists. One afternoon  while caring for my mom at the end of her fight with terminal cancer, my sister and I were in the kitchen having a casual conversation. We had placed an intercom at my mom's bedside  in the bedroom so if she called for help we could hear her. I had brought her a tape player and series of cassettes for her listening pleasure in an attempt to distract her from her pain and discomfort. In the middle of the conversation with my sister, I suddenly  became aware of Willie singing his heart out through the intercom with "but you were always on my mind, you were always on my mind" and I burst out into tears sobbing. My sister was immediately perplexed at what made me so upset, wondering what she could have said to cause such an outburst. It took me quite a while to stop crying enough so that I was able to explain to her that for the first time in my life, I took the words of that song into me as if  "mom was singing them to me". My mom had a somewhat abrasive personality and could be quite aloof at times.  Expressing her feelings in a warm and fuzzy manner was not one of her strong points, but she was really good at being critical and judgemental.  The words in Willie's chorus were all I ever needed to hear from her. On Christmas Eve, the night after she died, I sat down with my guitar and wrote this song. This is what I think my mother would have said to me  if she could have put her feelings into positive words.

In the silence of your embrace
I feel your love brush against my face
unspoken words I long to hear
from your heart to mine sing loud and clear

Maybe I didn't love you
  quite as often as I could have
and maybe I didn't treat you
   quite as good as I could have
I'm sorry if I hurt you, for the times I was unkind
but you were always on my mind.

In the silence of your embrace
I feel your love brush against my face
Unspoken words I long to hear
from your heart to mine sing loud and clear.

There were so many thoughts inside me
  that I didn't know how to tell you
There was so much love inside me
  that I didn't know how to show you
I guess I never told you I'm so happy you were mine
But you were always on my mind.

In the silence of your embrace
I feel your love brush against my face
Unspoken words I long to hear
from your heart to mine sing loud and clear.

Maybe I didn't love you
  quite as good as I should have
And maybe I didn't hold you
  quite as often as I could have
I'm sorry if I hurt you all those times I was unkind
But you were always on my mind
Yes you were always on my mind
You were always on my mind.