1. Jolly old St. Nicholas, lean your ear this way!
Don’t you tell a single soul, what I’m going to say;
Christmas Eve is coming soon; now, you dear old man,
Whisper what you’ll bring to me; tell me if you can.

2. When the clock is striking twelve, when I'm fast asleep,
Down the chimney broad and black, with your pack you'll creep;
All the stockings you will find hanging in a row;
Mine will be the shortest one, you'll be sure to know.

3. Johnny wants a pair of skates, Susy wants a dolly;
Nellie wants a story book; she thinks dolls are folly;
As for me, my little brain isn’t very bright;
Choose for me, old Santa Claus, what you think is right.

Sheet Music from J. P. McCaskey, ed., Franklin Square Song Collection, No. 1. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1881, p. 80. The citation is to "School Chimes. Per. S. Brainard's Sons."

The citation is presumably to James Ramsey Murray, School Chimes: A New School Music Book. Cleveland, Ohio: S. Brainard's Sons, 1874.

Note: A musical setting can also be found in Roy Ringwald's Book Of American Carols (2004), who adds a fourth verse.