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Johnny Cash - My Grandfather’s Clock Chords

Chord reference D, A7, G, E7, Em, B7, C#7, F#m
Rhythm tips ↓-↓↑

[D]Tick, [D]Tock, [D]Tick, [D]Tock, [D]Tick, [D]Tock, [D]Tick, [D]Tock

[D]My grandfather’s [A7]clock was too [D]large for the [G]shelf So it [D]stood ninety [A7]years on the [D]floor It was taller by [A7]half, than the [D]old man him[G]self Though it [D]weighed not a [A7]penny-weight [D]more. It was [D]bought on the morn of the [G]day that he was [D]born And was [D]always his [E7]treasure and [A7]pride But it [D]stopped [A7]short [D]never to [B7]go a[Em]gain When the [D]old [A7]man [D]died.

My [D]grandfather [A7]said that of [D]those he could hire Not a [D]servant so faith[A7]ful he [D]found For it wasted no [A7]time and had [D]but one de[G]sire At the [D]close of each [A7]week to be [D]wound And it kept in its’ place not a [G]frown upon its’ [D]face And its’ hands never [E7]hung by its [A7]side But it [D]stopped [A7]short [D]never to [B7]go a[Em]gain When the [D]old [A7]man [D]died.

For it [D]struck twenty four when he [G]enter’d at the [D]door With a [D]blooming and [E7]beau[A7]tiful bride But it [D]stopped [A7]short [D]never to [B7]go a[Em]gain When the [D]old [A7]man [D]died.

It [E]rang an a[B7]larm in the [E]dead of the [A]night An a[E]larm that for [B7]years had been [E]dumb And we knew that his [B7]spirit was [E]pluming for [A]flight, That his [E]hour for de[B7]parture had [E]come.

Still the [E]clock kept the [E]time, with its’ [A]soft and muffled [E]chimes As we [E]proudly [F#7]stood by his [B7]side But it [E]stopped [B7]short [E]never to [C#7]go a[F#m]gain When the [E]old [B7]man [E]died.

[E]Ninety years without slumbering, [E](Dah dah dah dah, dah dah dah!) [E]His life seconds numbering, [E](Dah dah dah dah, dah dah dah!) It [E]stopped [B7]short [E]never to [C#7]go a[F#m]gain When the [E]old [B7]man [E]died. When the [E]old [B7]man [E]died.

Artist Johnny Cash
Album Songs of Our Soil. Evelyn Knight
Year 1959
Key D

How to Play My Grandfather's Clock on Guitar?

Johnny Cash - My Grandfather's Clock can be played in the key of D using the D, A7, G, E7, Em, B7, C#7, F#m chords.

  • For D, To play D, press fret 2 on the low E string with finger 2, press fret 2 on the G string with finger 2, press fret 2 on the high E string with finger 2, let A, D ring open, mute B.
  • For A7, To play A7, let low E, A, G, high E ring open, mute D, B.
  • For G, To play G, press fret 2 on the A string with finger 2, let D, G, B ring open, mute low E, high E.
  • For E7, To play E7, let low E, D, B, high E ring open, mute A, G.
  • For Em, To play Em, let low E, G, B, high E ring open, mute A, D.
  • For B7, To play B7, press fret 2 on the low E string with finger 3, press fret 1 on the D string with finger 2, press fret 2 on the G string with finger 3, press fret 2 on the high E string with finger 3, let A, B ring open.
  • For C#7, To play C#7 | Db7, press fret 1 on the low E string with finger 2, press fret 2 on the A string with finger 3, press fret 1 on the G string with finger 2, press fret 2 on the B string with finger 3, press fret 1 on the high E string with finger 2, mute D.
  • For F#m, To play F#m | Gbm, barre fret 2 from the G string to the high E string with finger 1, press fret 2 on the low E string with finger 4, let A ring open, mute D.

Barre: Use your index finger to press multiple strings on the same fret, keeping your finger flat.

You can play My Grandfather's Clock with the ↓-↓↑ strumming pattern.