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 weighed 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

His life's seconds numbering

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

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

Ninety years without slumbering

His life's seconds numbering

But it stopped short, never to go again

When the old man died