A family’s musical attempt to convince their 97-year-old grandmother to take her medication has left the internet in hysterics.
Zena Dabouffe (@zenadabouffe), 24, from North Yorkshire, U.K., shared the chaotic scene on TikTok , capturing her husband, Daniel Dabouffe, 26, in full performance mode beside Jean Taylor’s bedside. The family had gathered after Jean suffered a fall and was slipping into what they described as her usual “I’m dying” spiral.
In the now-viral clip, Daniel picked up a guitar—despite not knowing how to play—and launched into an improvised song titled “Grandma Jean.” The video has since garnered 156,400 likes and 1.2 million views on TikTok.
“I have been known to be a bit of a legendary funny guy (self appointed title) so I thought would calm the mood with a song,” Daniel, who owns an Airbnb and commercial cleaning company, told Newsweek.
“As you might be able to tell, I don’t play the guitar but that’s never stopped me in the past, I picked it up and let the creative juices flow and there, a masterpiece was born.”
With Jean refusing to take her medication, the family decided it was time to intervene—with laughter.
“Whenever this happens she goes to the default, ‘I’m dying’ mode, so we all get in our cars and make the 20min drive to check up on her,” Daniel explained.
Zena captioned the video: “Grandma’s annual depression where she decided she is dying so there’s no need to take her medication. Don’t ask why my husband decided to serenade her. This is the sort of dysfunctional s*** that keeps her living, she’s now 97 so it must have worked.”
The family ensemble included Daniel, Zena, Yasmin (his sister-in-law), Matthew (his father-in-law), and Susan (his auntie-in-law), all gathering to lift Jean’s spirits.
Daniel took center stage, singing: “Grandma Jean, grandma Jean, won’t have an aspirin. grandma Jean, grandma Jean she’s not there grandma Jean. She’s got one more life today,” followed by the line, “she’s dying soon, the house needs sorting out,” as laughter erupted around the room.
Even the family dog, Lottie—a German hunting terrier—leapt onto the bed to join Jean, who giggled in mock horror throughout the performance.
Daniel then pointed to a cabinet behind him and sang, “For some reason, this cupboard behind me is off, out of bounds,” repeatedly asking, “What are you hiding in there?”
Behind the humor, Daniel acknowledged the tension in the room at the time: “The arguing that was going on at the time was, why did she fall? Is she taking her meds? Is Jean dying!”
Fortunately, Jean was “perfectly fine” following her fall and the musical intervention.
Daniel described Jean as a woman of contrasts—some, he said, would call her a lovely and kind soul who adores gardening and has a deep affection for animals.
Others, however, knew her as a bit of a “battle axe” with the nickname “Jean the Dragon.”
Despite her fiery reputation, Daniel expressed nothing but fondness for her, saying he “bloody loves” the woman. He noted that she’s always thinking of others and up for a laugh. According to him, the things that tend to trigger her depressive spells are seemingly minor infractions—like saying “yeah” instead of “yes,” swearing in her presence, or simply existing.
TikTokers were quick to join the fun in the comments.
“Why do all grandparents just decide they’re dying one day,” shared one user.
“This could be a scene from a British sitcom honestly,” said another viewer.
“I’m a nurse, can I use this song on patients who won’t take their meds or is it a copyright infringement?” joked one commenter named Maddy.
Another chimed in: “Having never seen this man before, I can totally understand why you married him and may I say what an excellent choice that was.”
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