Biography
Henry Clay Work applied his talents across several fields, functioning as both a painter and an editor while crafting popular songs. His debut effort in musical composition came in 1843 with “We are Coming, Sister Mary.” Although he moved to Chicago in 1854 to take up printing, recognition arrived only later through pieces centered on the Civil War. Following a long stretch without new material, Cady—who had placed several of those wartime numbers in the pages of his periodical “The Song Messenger”—pressed Work to begin composing again. “Grandfather’s Clock” reached print in 1876 and remains his best-known song unconnected to the war.