I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
A hippopotamus is all I want
Don't want a doll, no dinky Tinker toy
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
I don't think Santa Claus will mind, do you?
He won't have to use our dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door
That's the easy thing to do

I can see me now on Christmas morning
Creeping down the stairs
Oh, what joy and what surprise
When I open up my eyes
To see my hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles or rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
A hippopotamus is all I want
Mom says the hippo will eat me up, but then
Teacher says a hippo is a vegetarian

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
The kind I saw last summer in the zoo
We've got a car with room for two in
Our two-car garage
I'd feed him there and wash him there
And give him his massage

I can see me now on Christmas morning
Creeping down the stairs
Oh, what joy and what surprise
When I open up my eyes
To see my hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No kangaroos or duckbill platypuses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles or rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too