The Last Spike

written by: Tim Stafford (Daniel House Music, BMI) & Thomm Jutz (Thomm Songs, SESAC admin. by Bluewater Music)

Thomm Jutz; guitars and vocals

recorded and mixed by Thomm Jutz at TJTunes, Nashville/TN
mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering, Nashville/TN

Tim and I heard a friend mention a place where the “last spike” on the Trans-Canadian railroad had been driven. We immediately knew that we were going to write a song of that title.
The human effort it took to build the North American railroads is one of the great marvels of modern time. It came with great sacrifice from workers of all ethnicities.
My favorite line in this song is “An old guitar for comfort and tobacco in a pipe.” It’s so simple, yet there’s something very satisfying about singing these words.



The guitar on the left is a 1930 Gibson L-0, the one on the right is a 1949 Epiphone Broadway.
The Gibson was recorded with an AEA R84 ribbon mic and a Brauner Phantom C condenser mic. The Epiphone was recorded with the R84. Vocals were recorded with the R84 as well.
The Epiphone came from Alex McCollough’s collection. He let me borrow it for a couple of weeks, and after several months I finally managed to talk him into selling it to me.