Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff. I'm Lauren Bogelbaum, and this is another classic episode from our erstwhile host, Christian Sagar. So it turns out the grandfather clocks weren't always called grandfather clocks, but a single song changed that. Here's the story, Hey brain Stuff, it's Christian Sagar. Grandfather clock is a fitting name for an object that's often treated as a family heirloom. But even though it carries the ring of heritage and tradition,
the term itself is rather young. In fact, it's more than two centuries newer than the time piece it designates. When these vertically gifted clocks were first invented more than three hundred and fifty years ago, people actually called them long case clocks, a moniker that's still used in some circles, even though it's less catchy today. We might still be using that mundane term if it hadn't been for a songwriter who's been nicknamed America's war poet. So how did
the term grandfather clock come about? Well, Henry clay Work was a self taught musician and lyricist. He first made a name for himself during America's Civil War. One of his later offerings was titled Grandfather's Clock. According to his nephew, Bertram Henry clay, Work spent four years writing this piece, which Root and Katie published in eighteen seventy six. The did he tells the tale of a grandfather who received a brand new long case clock on the day of
his birth. A lifetime later, the man and his time piece enter the great beyond together. Works last mega hit, Grandfather's Clock, emerged as an instant classic and an enduring one. It sold more than eight hundred thousand copies in the song made its author four thousand dollars richer in latter deck gads. It was covered by Johnny Cash, spoofed on a Prairie Home Companion, and even remixed for the soundtrack of the indie video game Five Nights at Freddy's Too.
On top of all of that, the Oxford English Dictionary credits this song with popularizing the term grandfather Clock, and so works song inspired a new nickname for a centuries old time piece. But what was it that inspired the song itself? Two theories are out there. The George Hotel of pierce Bridge in North Yorkshire, England, claims that Grandfather's clock was conceived right in its lobby. Work once stayed there while traveling through the UK in eight seventy four.
After checking in it said that he spotted a handsome long case clock in the hotel's lobby. The hands seemed to be jammed frozen in place at the eleven oh five mark. Upon asking a staffer about this broken clock, he was told that it belonged to the late Jenkin brothers, who had once owned the hotel. Their clock work learned was purchased on the day the older sibling was born. Supposedly, it was the most reliable time piece a person could ask for, but when one of the brothers died, the
clock slowed down. Then years later, when death took the other sibling, its final tick rang out. According to legend, it's been silent ever since. Alas this story is probably just a bit of local folklore, then again, one Massachusetts family offers a different explanation. The relatives of Work's wife, Sarah Parker, believe that they possessed the clock that begat this iconic song to hear. The Parkers tell it, the songwriter took his cues from an old long case formally
owned by Sarah's grandfather. All these years later, this wooden clock still belongs to the Parkers, and no, it doesn't work either. Today's episode was written by Mark Fancini and produced by Dylan Fagan and Tyler Clang. For more in this and lots of other topics, visit how stuff Works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.