Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Grandfather's Clock

1905 grandfather clock by Waltham Clock CompanyGrandfather clocks are so-called because of an 1876 song by American songwriter Henry Work which opens: "My grandfather's clock was too tall for the shelf, so it stood 90 years on the floor."

I am very fond of that song, because my Dad used to sing it to me (and with me) when I was a little girl.

Thanks to history writer Rick Beyer who recently blogged on this story, which is part of his forthcoming book on The Greatest Music Stories Never Told. Here is a 1905 recording of the song by the Edison Male Quartet which Rick unearthed at UCSD's Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project.

The grandfather clock to the left was made in 1905 by the Waltham (MA) Clock Company; photo is from the Antique Clocks Guy website.

2 comments:

About The Breakfast Club said...

Hi Kate:

I found this site and your other site, "Choosing Santa Fe" since I was googling around. I live south of Providence, RI and my family and I are seriously thinking of moving to Santa Fe. Like you were are looking for a change of pace. I was almost amazed my your grandfather clock song, as that is the very song my grandfather used to sing to us.

I've love to chat with you offline about Santa Fe if you would be willing too.

You can find me at www.synthesiscoaching.com and my email is khodges@synthesiscoaching.com

Thanks in advance.

Karen

SantaFeKate said...

Thanks for your comments, Karen. I'm from Rhode Island too!