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My Grandfather’s Clock by Henry Clay Work
According to Wikipedia,"My Grandfather's Clock" is a song written in 1876 by Henry Clay Work, the author of "Marching Through Georgia". It is a standard of British brass bands and colliery bands, and is also popular in bluegrass music. The "Grandfather's Clock' song is known to many people who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s. The version often played in Britain on Children's Favourites during that period was recorded by the Radio Revellers. Other versions became popular in other countries. It is well known to many generations in Japan. In 2002 a Ken Hirai recording of this song rose quite high in the Japanese popularity charts.“ I grew up in the 40s and this song was often played on the radio. I knew it by heart and loved to sing it, although my singing is not what one would want to listen to. I never knew who wrote it, not did I know that Henry Clay Work was the author of so many popular songs in he nineteenth century. Feeeling nostalgic, I found this version on YouTubeGrandfather’s Clock by Johnny Cash The following is a reminiscence from the Hyde Park Historical Society Newsletter of December, 2006 by Frances S. Vandervoort.
“Tick-tock, tick-tock,” said the big clock on a
pole above our heads. Again, “tick-tock, ticktock,”
each pair of notes rising tentatively,
almost as if asking a question. As we looked up, the
clock launched into a familiar melody. “Ninety years
without stumbling, his life’s seconds numbering...”
The clock was on the corner of a busy intersection in
Sapporo, Japan where, in June, 2003, my husband and
I were spending a few days on a tour of northern Pacific
islands. We began to sing the words. My husband and
I sang this song when we were young, and found
ourselves singing it again on a street corner in Japan. Shortly after our return, we joined the Hyde Park Historical Society. Only then did we learn the story of
the remarkable cottage at the rear of 5317 South
Dorchester. The vertically cut wooden siding and
sharply raked roof of this charming building long had
intrigued us. Through the Society we learned that it
had been built in 1859 or 1860 by Henry Clay Work,
the composer of the song we enjoy so much. A simple child sized One evening not long ago, I was listening with one
ear to radio station WLS’s nightly radio program,
Extension 720. Through the mists of sleep I heard
three words, Henry Clay Work! Instantly awake, I
wrote down the name of the song being sung, “Lost on
the Lady Elgin.“ Hearing a guest describe the song as
one of the “saddest ever written,” I committed myself
to learning more about the song and the Lady Elgin
disaster. I found out that the singer was Great Lakes
balladeer Lee Murdock, whose fine voice caught the
true tragedy of the event. Most of the song was
composed by Work alone. Three verses added by Mr.
Murdock offer more details of the tragedy, and are
very much in keeping with Work’s melodious, natural
style. Lee Murdock’s album, Safe in the Harbor,*
contains a number of songs about the Great Lakes
maritime industry. This tragic wreck, which took place north of
Chicago the night of September 8, 1860, had political
ramifications extending far beyond Lake Michigan’s
shore. The following is a summary of a report by Lake
Michigan historian Brendon Baillod that describes the
wreck of the Steamer Lady Elgin. “The wreck of the Lady Elgin held the dubious
distinction of being the worst loss of life on the Great
Lakes until the steamer Eastland rolled over at her
Chicago dock in 1915, killing 835, and the Elgin still
ranks as the second worst wreck in the history of the
Lakes.” The Lady Elgin was a handsome, double-decked
wooden sidewheel steamer built in 1851. She had
been built to run between Buffalo, Chicago, and
Lake Superior carrying passengers and freight.
She was 252 feet long by 33.7 feet wide, and
constructed of white oak with iron reinforced frames
to carry 200 cabin passengers, 100 deck passengers,
and 43 crew members. A complet description of this event can be found at Winter 2006 Newsletter.
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Contributor's Note
I had a lot of fun listening to different versions of this song.
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http://www.zazzle.com/julier*
| http://www.julierichman.com
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