Grandfather Clock

My grandfather's clock was too large for the shelf So it stood ninety years on the floor It was taller by half than the old man himself Though it weighed not a penny weight more It was bought on the morn of the day that he was born And was always his treasure and pride But it stopped short never to go again When the old man died In watching its pendulum swing to and fro Many hours had he spent while a boy And in childhood a man who the clock seemed to know And it shared both his grief and his joy For it struck twentyfour when he entered at the door With a blooning and beautiful bride But it stopped short never to go again When the old man died Instrumental My grandfather said that of those he could hire Not a servant so faithful he'd found For it wasted no time and had but one desire At the close of each week to be wound And it kept in its place not a frown upon its face And the hands never hung by its side But it stopped short never to go again When the old man died It rang an alarm in the dead of the night An alarm that for years had been dumb And we knew that his spirit was planning for flight That the hour of departure had come Still the clock kept the time With a soft and muffled chime As we silently stood by his side But it stopped short never to go again When the old man died Many years without slumbering (tic tac tic tac) His life's seconds numbering (tic tac tic tac) It stopped short never to go again When the old man died