Saint Nicholas, that old fellow,
Is standing full of sorrow, sighing,
He‘s so sorry, for no gift
Can be obtained this year.
It was already difficult last year
To find some presents,
But now, what a predicament, everything is gone,
The holy man’s feelings run high.
Here I stand now and have no chance
To give this or that,
The blame lies with the Kraut, it‘s a shame,
Tell me, is that a life?
No more toys, no teddy bears,
No toy trains and no dolls,
So many children are expecting Saint Nicholas,
I can‘t bear it.
I have no clue and I am not able
To give something,
It makes me angry and obstinate,
I have no answer to that.
It‘s no fun, no cigarettes,
No tobacco for the gentlemen,
And no chocolate for Mama,
To treat her for once.
It‘s ridiculous, no peppernuts,
And also no letter cake,
Yes, it‘s coming on strong, no candy,
No wonder I‘m grumbling.
No marzipan and no bottle of wine,
And also no jug of jenever,
Such a rotten situation works on my gall,
And works on my heart and liver.
I said: Peterman, my helper,
What shall we do?
Because, my dear boy, there’s nothing
We could carry around.
The best thing, perhaps, for this year,
Is to stop our activity,
But I trust and hope soon again,
To make a better turn.
Post-Editing: Sylvia Stawski, Ernst Sittig
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