Uploaded December 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is a Christmas song. It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934. It became an instant hit with orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music the next day and more than 400,000 copies sold by Christmas. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934 (Decca 264A) featuring Tom Stacks on vocal, the version shown in the Variety charts of December 1934. The song was a sheet music hit, reaching #1. The song was also recorded on September 26, 1935, by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra. The song is a traditional standard at Christmas time, and has been covered by numerous recording artist.
I just came back from a lovely trip along the Milky Way
I called on dear old Santa Claus to spend a holy day
You better watch out, you better not cry
You better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming, coming to town
Yes he's making a list and checking it twice
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming, coming to town
He sees you when you're sleepin'
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been good or bad
So be good for goodness sake
You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming, coming to town
Yea jolly ole Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you're sleepin'
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming
Yes Mr. Santa Claus is coming
Oh Santa Claus is coming to town
I have it on very good authority
In fact, I think it was
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
Who told me so
"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is a Christmas song. It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934. It became an instant hit with orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music the next day and more than 400,000 copies sold by Christmas. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934 (Decca 264A) featuring Tom Stacks on vocal, the version shown in the Variety charts of December 1934. The song was a sheet music hit, reaching #1. The song was also recorded on September 26, 1935, by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra. The song is a traditional standard at Christmas time, and has been covered by numerous recording artist.
I just came back from a lovely trip along the Milky Way
I called on dear old Santa Claus to spend a holy day
You better watch out, you better not cry
You better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming, coming to town
Yes he's making a list and checking it twice
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming, coming to town
He sees you when you're sleepin'
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been good or bad
So be good for goodness sake
You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming, coming to town
Yea jolly ole Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you're sleepin'
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming
Yes Mr. Santa Claus is coming
Oh Santa Claus is coming to town
I have it on very good authority
In fact, I think it was
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
Who told me so
