A song in tribute to John Thomas Gill, Blacksmith and Craftsman on the 48 Road in Elliotvale, PEI 1861—1957
The Forge
Each time I travel the road past home,
It’s a stroll through history
When all that’s been comes alive again
And becomes a part of me
Past the lindens on our old home farm,
Then, just beyond the hill,
The sound of the pounding on the metal fills my mind
From the forge of John T. Gill
Refrain:
I hear the ring of the hammer on the anvil
As they pound out the shoeing for a sleigh
And the sign, Gill’s Corner I can plainly see
Like it’s just been painted today
As I gaze for a while from the roadside
With the wonder of a child
I can see them work with the gift of their hands
And a tear falls on my smile
For not long ago, this blacksmith worked
With tools of the finest he had made
He was known all around, the best to be found –
A master of his trade
Refrain
With hammer, iron, lathe and wood
So many things he’d make
Shoes for the horses or a cradle for your babe
Such tender care he’d take
When the family gathered ‘round, and the fiddle came out
He’d “saw off a tune or two “
He’d start it all off with the tune, “Red Wing”
Then he’d play every tune he knew
Refrain
One day the hammer, it tapped no more
And the blacksmith, he was gone
But the skills of the trade he passed to his sons
And the legacy lived on
Johnny’s still there, and, though the forge is gone
In my mind I’ll always see
Eddy with his gentle smile
Waving back to me
Refrain