My Grandfather's Clock
A song that gave the grandfather clock its name.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: My Grandfather's Clock · see source
Henry Clay Work, who also wrote "Marching Through Georgia," composed "My Grandfather's Clock" in 1876. The tune became a staple for British brass and colliery bands, as well as bluegrass musicians.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the song gave us the term "grandfather clock" for a longcase clock. The earliest known recording of the song was made in 1905 by Harry Macdonough and the Haydn Quartet (known then as the Edison Quartet). In 1967, American music historians John T. Howard and George Kent Bellows claimed that hardly any school songbook in the United States leaves out "Grandfather's Clock."
Quick Facts
- Year written
- 1876
- Writer
- Henry Clay Work
- Earliest known recording
- 1905
- Earliest recording performers
- Harry Macdonough and the Haydn Quartet (known then as the Edison Quartet)
Facts from the source article.
Storyline
A grandchild narrates the story of their grandfather's clock. It was bought the morning the grandfather was born and ran flawlessly for ninety years, needing only a weekly winding. The clock appeared to sense the highs and lows of his life: it chimed twenty-four times when he brought his bride home, and later sounded an alarm that his family understood as a sign of his approaching death, prompting them to gather at his bedside. Following the grandfather's passing, the clock abruptly stopped and never ticked again.
Sequel
Two years after the original song, a sequel was published, again narrated by the grandson. He mourns the fate of the broken grandfather clock, which was sold to a junk dealer. Its parts went for scrap, and its case was burned as kindling. In the grandfather's house, a wall clock took its place, which the grandson scorns, calling it "that vain, stuck-up thing on the wall." This sequel never matched the original's popularity.
The song has been covered and translated widely. Some versions differ; for instance, the Czech rendition by the band Taxmeni adds a cheerful verse. In it, the grandson's son is born, and a new clock is bought on the same day, continuing the family tradition.
More in Sentimental Ballads
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: My Grandfather's Clock (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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