My Grandfather's 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
And it weight not a penny's weight more
It was bought on the morn that my grandpa was born
And was always his treasure and pride
But it stopped short never to go again
When the old man died

Ninety years without slumbering (tic tac tic tac)
His life's seconds numbering (tic tac tic tac)
But it stopped short never to go again
When the old man died.

At watching its pendulum swing to and fro
Many hours he had spent as a boy
As he grew into manhood the clock seemed to know
For it shared every sorrow and joy
And it struck twenty four as he entered the door
With his beautiful and blushing bride
But it stopped short never to go again
When the old man died

My grandfather said that of those he could hire
Not a servant so faithful he'd found
For it wasted no time and it had but one desire
At the close of each week to be wound
Yes it kept in its place but not a frown upon its face
And its hands never hung by its side
But it stopped short never to go again
When the old man died

Then 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 pluming for flight
That his hour for departure had come
Yes the clock kept the time
With a soft and muffled chime
As we stood there and watched by his side
But it stopped short never to go again
When the old man died