"My grandfathers clock was too large for the shelf so it stood 90 years on the far" . . . Now I don't have any problem with That' part. "It was taller by hat than the old man himself and it weighed not a featherweight more" "It was born on the morn on the day that he was born" Ok, now this is my question: When Is a clock born? When it's brought home from the shop or when the manuFACTURER completes the construction of it? ?? They say 'it was taller by hat than the old man himself ' . . That's assuming that when the grandfather was fully grown, you know, his full height. let's put it this way, the clock didn't grow. Also " it weighed not a featherweight more" . . Is that assuming it was his maXIMum weight as an adult?I'm sure that the grandfather's weight didn't remain constant. . Did the clock gain weight? "90 years without stumbering tick tock tick tock" "and it stopped short, never to go again, when the old man died" When the clock was "born" did it keep perfect time throughOut the lifetime of the grandfather? At the termination of the grandfathers life the did the clock all of a sudden stop working? ??? Can someone figure out WHAT the guy who wrote that song had in mind???

Good lord -- it's amazing what files he ol' hardrive stores! I haven't heard or thought of that song since, like, kindergarten. But I remember the lyrics: "It was taller by HALF than the old man himself, yet it weighed not a pennyweight more." Meaning if the old man was 6' ft, the clock was 6'6". Of course it didn't 'grow'. And it wd not have had to keep perfect time to stop working at the moment he died. I assume handmade clocks like this were 'born' on the date they were completed by the mfg. Since they were handcrafted back in those days, there wd probably have been some sort of engraving or signature indicating the date of completion. I think what the songwriter had foresmost in mind was rhyme scheme. Whatever made you think of that old children's song?

Actually if the old man was 6' the clock would have been 9'. Otherwise, R. C. is right.

I seem to remember hearing that there's a reason that in shops, regular mechanical clocks (non-digital) are displayed with the hands either at 3:40 or 8:20 -- a famous clockmaker (possibly seth thomas) died at that time. Has anybody heard this too? Something like that.

OK, guess not. But if anybody's heard of this too, let me know. Thanks

There is a clock displayed on a webpage telling about the life of Seth Thomas. One of the clocks is set at 8:20. I am curious. http://www.adelphi.edu/~landesbj/seththomas.html

Thank you for the response and input to my posting about this zany song. That song is pre-programmed on my Yamaha keyboard. A friend was reading a mawkish e-mail to me titled "Grandpa's table" and it started from there. thanks again

It was BOUGHT on the morn of the day that he was born... thats how it goes. also, I once heard that clocks in advertisements are usually set at 10:10 because it makes them look "happy" I don't know about the other times.

Dr.Spectrum,i have a vast brain for old ideas,and you may have to get back to the 1950s for your answere.

If your not dead or somthing.

And why doz any one bother with this 50 year old shit?Dont know why im even on this crapola thead.CJ,your an asshole.As for your your grandfathers clock,you can shove it up your ass.

that's the spirit, V.v !

Yeah, all nine feet of it!

SORRY GUYS,I WAS REAL DRUNK ON VODKA AT THE TIME!JEEZ, I THINK IM TURNING INTO A SORABJI!

The song was written when the author called in to an inn in at Piercebridge in the north of England on a journey, the story goes that he saw the grandfather Clock (it is still there) and wrote his song there and then. If you all did some research instead of just analysing your own thoughts on the subject you might just get some sense