Henry Clay Work (1832-1884)

Overview

Henry Clay Work was an American songwriter and composer of popular songs, born in Middletown, Connecticut and died in Hartford. He was educated in Illinois but later returned to Connecticut taking an apprenticeship as a printer. Self-taught in music and poetry, he is reported to have composed directly whilst typesetting without a manuscript or resorting to a piano. He wrote a large number of patriotic songs during the Civil War, the best known being of course Marching Through Georgia (1865), which later became a jazz standard. His Grandfather's Clock (1876) is known throughout the English-speaking world ever since (and by-the-way, one this old codger's childhood favourites). Another of his songs to a achieve widespread popularity was Ring the Bell, Watchman! (1865) which with a change of lyrics became the almost Australian national anthem Click go the Shears. It was also taken up by English and Scandinavian seamen as Strike the bell.
Besides his music, Work was also an inventor patenting diverse machinations such as a rotary engine, a knitting machine and a walking doll. It is written that he was probably one of only a few of the truly original American popular song composers to invent American popular music style influencing the succeeding generations of songwriters.

Websites:
	Henry Clay Work	Biography by wikipedia.org.
	DAHR: Henry Clay Work	List of 60 historic recordings from 1894 to 1936.

Henry Clay Work (1832-1884) has at least 2 item(s) at the Amazons which you can order on-line by clicking the item's order icon.

Grandfather's Clock
Music by: Henry Clay Work.
Performed by: Christy Minstrels

Publisher:	Root & Cady
Suppliers:
Printed: 1876.	Sheet Music.

Watching For Pa
Music by: Henry Clay Work.
Performed by: Christy Minstrels

Publisher:	Root & Cady
Suppliers:
Printed: 1863.	Sheet Music.

Cylinders

	Title (Release Year)	Co-Author(s)	Performers	Issue


Grandfather's Clock (1915)	W.V. Brunt Helen Clark	Edison Blue Amberol: 2526
Marching Through Georgia - Song (1911)	Byron George Harlan Joe Parsons	U.S. Everlasting: 369
Grandfather's Clock (1905)	Edison Male Quartette	Edison Gold Moulded Record: 8967
Marching Through Georgia - Song (1904)	Byron George Harlan F.C. Stanley	Edison Gold Moulded Record: 8606
Marching Through Georgia - Song (1896-1900)	George J. Gaskin	Columbia Phonograph Co.: 4098
Marching Through Georgia (1896-1900)	Gilmore's Band	Columbia: 1638
Marching Through Georgia - Song (1913)	Frederick J. Wheeler as James F. Harrison	Edison Blue Amberol: 1888
Marching Through Georgia (1909)	Indestructible Military Band	Indestructible Record: 1069

MIDIs

	Title	Co-Author(s)	Sequencer


	Andy Veto (1866)		James Pitt-Payne
	Beautiful Rose (1861)		Unknown
	Brave Boys Are They! (1861)		Werner Tomaschewski
	Come Home, Father (1864)		Benjamin R. Tubb
	Grafted Into the Army (1862)		Benjamin R. Tubb
	Grandfather's Clock (1876)		Benjamin R. Tubb
	Grandmother Told Me So (1861)		Unknown
	Kingdom Coming! (1862)		Unknown
	Lillie of the Snowstorm (1866)		Unknown
	Marching Through Georgia (1865)		Colin McDonald
	Marching Through Georgia - Song (1865)		Unknown
	Nellie Lost and Found (1863)
	Our Captain's Last Words (1861)
	Picture on the Wall (1864), The		Werner Tomaschewski
	Ship That Never Returned (1884), The		Unknown
	⇑Song of the Red Man (1868), The		Unknown

Records

	Title (Release Year)	Composer	Performers	Issue


Come Home, Father (1864)	H.C. Work	Ollie Bunn Daddy John Love C. Todd	Victor: BS-102722
Grandfather's Clock (1914)	H.C. Work	W.V. Brunt Helen Clark Walter Scanlan	Edison: 3278
Katinka (1926)	H.C. Work	Tom Stacks	Brunswick: E2590-E2592
Kingdom Coming! (1916)	H.C. Work	Harry C. Browne	Columbia: 47014
Marching Through Georgia - Song (1905)	H.C. Work	John W. Myers	Victor: B-2225
Marching Through Georgia - Song (1914)	H.C. Work	Knickerbocker Quartet	Edison: 3081
Marching Through Georgia (1916)	H.C. Work	Prince's Band	Columbia: 46890
Ship That Never Returned, The (1934)	H.C. Work	Bradley Kincaid	Victor: BS-81386
Ship That Never Returned, The (1925)	H.C. Work	Charles Lewis Stine	Columbia: W140448
Ship That Never Returned, The (1925)	H.C. Work	V. Dalhart	Edison: 10586
Thousand Years, A (1918)	H.C. Work	Columbia Mixed Quartette	Columbia: 49425

Samples

	Title (Release Year)	Performers	Instruments


	Marching Through Georgia (1865)	Midi Ragtime Recorder Ens.	T/T/T+B/B/GB(B)

CDs

	Performer	CD Title	Supplier


	Brass Music CDs:
	Rastrick & Brighouse Band	An Evening with Brighouse and Rastrick Band
	Jazz Music CDs:
	Acker Bilk	The Very Best of Acker Bilk
	Ragtime Music CDs:
	Various Artists	100 Favorite Patriotic Songs

Item	Title	Available	€	£	$	Other



DBE620	Marching Through Georgia (1865) - March & Two Step T/T/T+B/B/GB(B), approx. 2¾ mins.	1-2 days

Library

	Title	Instruments	Remarks


	Marching Through Georgia (1865)	T/T/T+B/B/GB(B)

Mono.

This list is derived from information provided by Monologues.co.uk which went down sometime in 2023.
The loss of this valuable resource is very sad and a mystery.

	Title	Attribution	Remarks


	Grandfather's Clock	Henry Clay Work (words & music) George Formby Sr. (perf.)

	Title	Attribution	Instruments	Source	Remarks


Andy Veto (1866)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Sheet Music Singer
Babylon Is Fallen! (1863)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Greer	Pub.
Beautiful Rose (1861)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Sheet Music Singer
Brave Boys Are They! (1861)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Sheet Music Singer
Come Home, Father (1864)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	IMSLP Sheet Music Singer	Pub.
Grafted Into the Army (1862)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Sheet Music Singer	Pub.
Grandfather's Clock (1876)	H.C. Work (w&m) Sam Lucas (perf.)	Piano, Voice	IMSLP Indiana Sheet Music Singer	Pub.
⇑Grandmother Told Me So (1861)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Sheet Music Singer	Pub.
Kingdom Coming! (1862)	H.C. Work (music)	Piano, Voice	Indiana Sheet Music Singer	Pub.
Lillie of the Snowstorm (1866)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Sheet Music Singer	Pub.
Marching Through Georgia (1865)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Greer Indiana	Pub.
Marching Through Georgia - Song (1865)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Sheet Music Singer	Pub.
Nellie Lost and Found (1863)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Greer Sheet Music Singer	Pub.
Our Captain's Last Words (1861)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Sheet Music Singer	Pub.
Ring the Bell, Watchman! (1865)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	IMSLP	Pub.
⇑Ship That Never Returned (1884), The	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Sheet Music Singer	Pub.
Song of the Red Man (1868), The	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	Sheet Music Singer	Pub.
Wake Nicodemus (1864)	H.C. Work (music)	Piano, Voice	Indiana	Pub.
Watching For Pa (1850)	H.C. Work (w&m)	Piano, Voice	IMSLP
We Are Coming, Sister Mary (1853)	H.C. Work (music) Edwin P. Christy (perf.)	Piano, Voice	Indiana

Works

This list is arranged in chronological order and contains 56 works by Henry Clay Work (1832-1884). It does not claim to be complete and represents only the number of items located. Keys: ER

(w&m)

1850-1862

Title	Year	Attribution	Remarks


Watching For Pa (w&m)	1850	Christy Minstrels (perf.)
We Are Coming, Sister Mary	1853	Edwin P. Christy (perf.)
Lilly-Willy-Woken	1855
Beautiful Rose	1861
Brave Boys Are They!	1861
Grandmother Told Me So	1861
Lost on the Lady Elgin	1861
Our Captain's Last Words	1861		Pub.
First Love Dream	1862
God Save the Nation	1862		Pub.
Grafted Into the Army	1862		Pub.
⇑ How Are You Telegraph!	1862
Kingdom Coming! (w&m)	1862	Harry C. Browne (perf.)	Pub.
Little Major	1862		Pub.
Uncle Joe's Hail Columbia	1862		Pub.
We'll Go Down Ourselves	1862		Pub.

1863-1865

Title	Year	Attribution	Remarks


Babylon Is Fallen!	1863
Days When We Were Young, The	1863		Pub.
Girls at Home, The	1863		Pub.
Nellie Lost and Found	1863		Pub.
Sleeping For the Flag	1863
Song of a Thousand Years	1863		Pub.
Thousand Years, A (w&m)	1863	Columbia Mixed Quartette (perf.)
Watching For Pa	1863	Christy Minstrels (perf.)	Pub.
Columbia's Guardian Angels	1864
Come Home, Father (w&m)	1864	Ollie Bunn (perf.) Daddy John Love (perf.) Clarence Todd (perf.)	Pub.
Corporal Schnapps	1864		Pub.
⇑ Picture on the Wall, The (w&m)	1864
Wake Nicodemus	1864		Pub.
Washington and Lincoln	1864
Just Before the Battle Mother	1865
Marching Through Georgia	1865	Midi Ragtime Recorder Ensemble (perf.) Gilmore's Band (perf.) Indestructible Military Band (perf.) Prince's Band (perf.)	Pub.

1865-1876

Title	Year	Attribution	Remarks


Marching Through Georgia - Song	1865	George J. Gaskin (perf.) Byron George Harlan (perf.) Knickerbocker Quartet (perf.) John W. Myers (perf.) Joe Parsons (perf.) Frank C. Stanley (perf.) Frederick J. Wheeler as James F. Harrison (perf.)
Now Moses	1865		Pub.
Ring the Bell, Watchman! (w&m)	1865		Pub.
Tis Finished	1865		Pub.
Andy Veto	1866		Pub.
Lillie of the Snowstorm	1866		Pub.
Poor Kitty Popcorn	1866		Pub.
Who Shall Rule This American Nation?	1866		Pub.
Come Back to the Farm!	1867		Pub.
Dad's a Millionaire	1867
Song of the Red Man, The (w&m)	1868
⇑ Buckskin Bag of Gold	1869
Crossing the Grand Sierras	1870		Pub.
Take Them Away! They'll Drive Me Crazy	1871
Grandfather's Clock (w&m)	1876	Walter Van Brunt (perf.) Christy Minstrels (perf.) Helen Clark (perf.) Edison Male Quartette (perf.) Burl Ives (perf.) Leonard Keller (perf.) Evelyn Knight (perf.) Sam Lucas (perf.) Walter Scanlan (perf.) George Formby Sr. (perf.)
Phantom Footsteps	1876

1876-1926

Title	Year	Attribution	Remarks


Touch the Sleeping Strings Again	1876
Used-Up Joe	1876
King Bibler's Army	1877
Shadows on the Floor	1877	Jennie Morgan (perf.)
Sequel to Grandfather's Clock	1878
Ship That Never Returned, The (w&m)	1884	Vernon Dalhart (perf.) Bradley Kincaid (perf.) Charles Lewis Stine (perf.)	Pub.
Bring the Good Old Bugle, Boys	1885
Katinka (w&m)	1926	Tom Stacks (perf.)

Videos

	Composer	Title	Performer


	H.C. Work	Grandfather's Clock (2:23)	Burl Ives