Linda Edition Mapper
▶ Henry Clay Work

My Grandfather's Clock

Henry Clay Work (1876) → Ken Hirai (2002)

19th Century American Popular Song
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J-Pop / R&B Ballad
1876 — Golden era of 19th-century American parlour songs
Original
Henry Clay Work — 1876

19th Century American Popular Song

Written by Civil War-era songwriter Henry Clay Work, this classic parlour song depicts a grandfather clock bought on the day of a grandfather's birth that faithfully ticked for 90 years, only to stop permanently the moment he died. Delivered with upbeat storytelling and percussive pendulum mimicry.

Now playing
Ōkina Furudokei
Ken Hirai — 2002

J-Pop / R&B Ballad

In 2002, Ken Hirai — an artist raised on the song via NHK's Minna no Uta — covered it as a single, rebuilding it with warm acoustic textures and R&B phrasing. The cover rekindled childhood memories of the song and reached No. 1 on the Oricon chart, selling over a million copies and cementing it as a 21st-century Japanese standard.

A 19th-century American parlour tune, filtered through Japanese translation and public broadcasting, redefined by Ken Hirai's vocal performance as a modern J-POP ballad.

From original to redefined

What to listen for

A 19th-century American parlour tune, filtered through Japanese translation and public broadcasting, redefined by Ken Hirai's vocal performance as a modern J-POP ballad.

  • Children's Song to Adult Ballad

    From a chorus-sung children's song to an intimate R&B ballad

  • Group Singing to Solo Confession

    From a communal singalong to one artist's introspective confession

  • Inheritance to Reignition

    From preserving a handed-down memory to reigniting it as a modern standard (Oricon No. 1, million-seller, 2002)

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