Talk:My Grandfather's Clock

The Hotel and the clock

As the article stands now, there is a picture of a hotel with no indication in the text of what it is doing there! Only by following the external links can you find an explanation. This (if it is reliable) is what the article should be about, not Fisher-Price toys. Does anybody have an opinion on whether the referenced site ranks as a reliable source? --ColinFine (talk) 11:38, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Was it perhaps a reference to this article? https://www.theclockdepot.com/history_of_the_grandfather_clock.html Lawrie (talk) 04:15, 17 February 2019 (UTC)

Bad links

I'm removing some links that no longer appear to be functional or are missing some expected content. I can hardly guess why the hotel link was there to begin with:

• Fisher-Price 'Teaching Clock'

-MrFizyx 03:45, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

I've removed the hotel one from your listing as I am strongly suspicious that it was nothing more then SPAM. 68.39.174.238 08:53, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

There is a hotel mentioned in the article, and the hotel web site may have once had relevnat information. Rex the first has removed this link on the bais that it is inappropriate:

• "My Grandfather's Cock" (parody) lyrics

My first inclination was to cite WP:NOT#CENSORED and revert him. Although I don't feel strongly about this link, it is related, and having a link is better than quoting the lyrics in the article as once was done. Other editors have left it alone. Any other opinions? -MrFizyx 18:13, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

If it's a clear parody and is notable enough (EG. Not a one-off affair), I think it might be inclusion-worthy. The text might be worth changing to "Obscene parody version" or something. 68.39.174.238 22:04, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Re-add it if you feel like it but Wikipedia:External links ask that links are proper in the context of the article (useful, tasteful, informative, factual, etc.) I don't think it adds anything but I will leave it to you. Rex the first ^{talk | contribs} 20:56, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

I've not done WIKI editing, so I'll leave that to the experts, but I do have a couple comments about the song and the page:

-1- The original published title of the song is "Grandfather's Clock". The page should probably make clear that when searching for the song, it is often necessary to search with and without the word "My". If the change wouldn't break other links, it might be good to entitle the page "(My) Grandfather's Clock".

-2- A source should be cited for the claim that the song is the origin of the term "grandfather clock". Many dictionaries cite the song as the origin of the term, so citing one shouldn't be a problem.

-3- I think it may be worthwhile to note that in 1876-1878, a number of songs about timepieces were written. Some, like "My Grandmother's Watch" were original, while others like "Since Grandfather Died" were clearly imitators. Henry Clay Work himself wrote "Sequel to Grandfather's Clock", copyright 1878, in which the old clock--now "speechless from grief"--is disposed of to make way for a "vain stuck-up thing on the wall". Supercat9 (talk) 06:08, 15 October 2008 (UTC)

The British vocal group the Mudlarks (siblings Fred, Jeff and Mary Mudd) had a hit single with the song in 1958.76.195.221.83 (talk) 23:53, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Early use of term "grandfather clock

The reference to an earlier use of the term "grandfather clock" in the "Storyline" section has some serious problems: First, the source text cited is actually Wee Macgreegor, a collection of humorous sketches by "J.J.B."--the copy of Wee Macgreegor digitized by Google was bound with a much earlier edition of translations of Ovid by various hands (including John Dryden, thus the strange "Ovid, John Dryden" attribution). The digitized edition of Wee Macgreegor is undated, but according to WP its own self, it wasn't published until 1903 (and the author, John Joy Bell, wasn't born until 1871), so despite being bound with an 1817 volume, the Wee Macgreegor usage does not precede the composition of the song. And I suspect that the whole point represents seat-of-the-pants OR. When in doubt, trust the OED over someone who doesn't know that Ovid's given names were not "John Dryden." /snark. I have accordingly removed the offending sentence. RLetson (talk) 22:06, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

I will look further into what you say but first two things. Presentation of primary sources is allowed when done without interpretation, this was done without being OR. Second, the OED has been wrong on numerous things and I have received acknowledgements as such from their reps as well as Michael Quinlon on several issues. Attributions were taken literally when presenting the info. If I have erred, I apologize.
⋙–Berean–Hunter—► 22:14, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

John Joy Bell wrote the story in question. This is my mistake but just to let you know this isn't original research. Finding answers to queries is hardly OR. I believe that I found other occurrences of the phrase that predate the OED entry but I'll revisit that later.
⋙–Berean–Hunter—► 22:32, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

Vandalism

Why does someone keep vandalising this page and putting verbs into the future rather than the past? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.76.7.183 (talk) 14:03, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Covers and inspirations?

I am guessing that "cover" is used here in the sense defined by Wiki as "a new performance or recording of a previously recorded, commercially released song" -- which is a modern "audio big biz" concept applicable to commercial music published essentially for, and generally by, a commercial phonographic beneficiary. The use of the term in respect of song published on paper in 1876 makes no sense without particular justification. Who claims to have `covered' "God Save the King," "Twinkle, Twinkle" or "La Marseillaise?" Wyresider (talk) 22:09, 14 April 2017 (UTC)

I'm widely known as the world's biggest pedant, and even I think this is pedantry. Blitterbug 10:54, 22 May 2022 (UTC) Blitterbug 10:54, 22 May 2022 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Blitterbug (talk • contribs)

Sequel

The youtube link to the sequel leads to an unavailable video. A new source is needed, preferably an inexorable one. Also, this might be a dumb question but... what is the sequel's name?66.190.13.201 (talk) 01:01, 3 May 2022 (UTC)

Believe it or not, the sequel is called "Sequel To Grandfather's Clock".

What a catchy title.

I have added a better citation : A link to the song's original sheet music in the LOC : https://www.loc.gov/item/sm1878.04007/

ApLundell (talk) 01:28, 3 May 2022 (UTC)

Popular Culture

Variations on the theme were published by British-Australian-South African composer Luscombe Searelle around 1900 copy of the score at http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-179798310 Tradimus (talk) 13:36, 18 October 2023 (UTC)