Tiger Tunes - The Clockwork Man

Lyrics
Tik-Tok says Hi!

During the musical introduction to The Clockwork Man Betsy Bobbin proceeds to wind-up Tik-Tok who slowly comes to life to the delight of the little girl.

Tik-Tok
I’m a man of many parts and complicated
Clockwork makes me go;
I can run because I’m finely regulated,
Never fast or slow:
Right on time
You’re always sure to find me;
If my works run down
You mustn’t mind me,
Take the key and then proceed to wind me
And my genius I will show.

Always work and never play!
Don’t demand a cent of pay!
What I’m wound to do I do do,
Isn’t that the nicest way?
I’m a very clever man!
Find my equal if you can!
When you wind me you will find me
Working on the clockwork plan!

Clock-Girl Chorus
Always work and never play!
Don’t demand a cent of pay!
What he’s wound to do he’ll do, too,
Isn’t that the nicest way?
He’s a very clever man!
Find his equal if you can!
When you wind him you will find him
Working on the clockwork plan!

Tik-Tok
Mortal man has
No stem-winding works to guide him
When he gets too fast.
No one knows what
Deviltry there lurks inside him
Till the action’s past.
In my case I’m always true and trusty;
Never get too musty or too dusty;
Keep me oiled and I am never rusty
And a thousand years I’ll last.

Always work and never play!
Don’t demand a cent of pay!
What I’m wound to do I do do,
Isn’t that the nicest way?
I’m a very clever man!
Find my equal if you can!
When you wind me you will find me
Working on the clockwork plan!

During the final chorus all of Tik-Tok's actions run down, leaving him helpless, as the Clock Girls finish the number.

The Clockwork Man

From the 1913 Musical Comedy
The Tik-Tok Man of Oz
Words by L. Frank Baum
Music by Louis F. Gottschalk

Early in Act One, Betsy Bobbin, Hank the Mule, and the Shaggy Man discover an odd mechanical man at the bottom of a well. They free him. And after being properly wound-up he proceeds to tell his new friends all about himself.

James Morton as Tik-Tok

James C. Morton as Tik-Tok (1913)
As seen in the photo at the bottom of this page the Clock chorus was made up of pretty girls with clocks for heads. They cheerfully swung their pendulums and held mechanical "crickets" in their hands to make the tick-tock sounds.

This charming number has been wonderfully orchestrated for us by James P. Doyle. So sit back, play the MIDI and listen as The Tik-Tok Man of Oz comes to life!

You may also download the sheet music in PDF format which will allow you to save it on disc or print copies for yourself.

Orchestration Copyright © 2001, James Patrick Doyle.

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More Tiger Tunes

Tik-Tok and the Clock-Girl Chorus perform The Clockwork Man.