Recorded at 'MUSICMAN STUDIOS in Springfield KY' with the excellent borderline band. I just play accoustic on this one.
This song was recorded at Musicman Studios in Springfield KY with Larry Sanders and Borderline.
Back when the Elliott family would meet in the Sand Hill area of Estill County for family events, the gate to my great-grandparents farm was on a hill overlooking the valley where the old farm house stood. The gate was rotten and warped and had to be dragged out of the way so that you could drive through. From the front porch almost a quarter mile away the folks that were already there could see the new arrivals coming through. The view from the gate was beautiful as well with the farmhouse, pond, barns and animals in clear view in the green valley below. It wasn’t unusual at all for the people at the gate to yell and wave to the family waiting at the house below. I really, really miss those days. But you know maybe I will get to experience that feeling again someday.
A lot of people want to know why I used “pawpaw tree” in the song instead of something easier to say…..well now, it was a pawpaw tree.
OLD GATE ON THE HILL
As the family gathered at the old farm
We’d wait out on the porch
As each one topped the hill they waved a greeting
Straining their eyes to see the ones who passed through the gates before
To our happy family meeting
When our cousins and kin arrived at last we’d play in the woods till late
We didn’t realize our time for fun was fleeting,
The air was fresh our lungs would burn as we ran down from the gate,
To our happy family meeting.
CHORUS
If I get there before you do I’ll turn on the old porch light
I’ll sit on the swing next to the pawpaw tree
And wait in the waning light
Lord life was good because of you, It gives me such a thrill
The gate of heaven just might look like the old gate on the hill
Just like the past at the old farm
They wait in a glorious place
They watch the gate at the top of the hill repeating
Come set with us a while my child our circle waits for you
At our happy family meeting.
CHORUS
If I get there before you do I’ll turn on the old porch light
I’ll sit on the swing next to the pawpaw tree
And wait in the waning light
Lord life was good because of you, It gives me such a thrill
The gate of heaven just might look like the old gate on the hill