Hi, Ray -
No idea who wrote it. Google led me to the source, and the source offered no attribution. Sounds like something one would find in one of the Song Fest books, but it didn't come up when I searched for nail in the indexes of the three Song Fest editions.
What I remember from my youth is the ditty that Banjoman posted. I wonder if that's the complete thing, or if there's more. There's a Wikipedia entry on that one.

-Joe-