Here are words as I remember them.

There on a dresser a faded old picture
Of one Valentino who'd stolen her heart.
He had escorted her once to a preview.
Something in which she had played a small part.
Hollywood gossips reported them lovers.
But they will write anything if they are paid.
He went on to be a great movie star
She never made the grade

Chorus:
But how she lived within her mind
She dreamed of how they danced and dined
And in her dreams he'd run slow motion towards her.
With his arms opened wide.
Oh how she lived within her mind.
She loved him till the day she ( he ?) died.
She'd run the reel again and again
Playing her lines as she did then.

She earned her living by waiting on tables
She worked on the swing shift for 35 years.
And on every christmas she'd ( -------------)
And drown all her sorrows in memories and beers.
And on his birthday sh'd pay him a visit
And lovingly place flowers there by his grave.
She never once let any other man touch her.
none did she ever crave.

Chorus.

There on the beach on a soft summer evening.
A couple are walking along in the sand.
There in the surf her body is lying.
A dried up carnation is crushed in her hand.
There on the beach where they used to go walking.
She'd fallen to dreaming his arms held her tight.
Her face held the trace of a bitter sweet smile.
That faded to the night.