I wish I was in Carrickfergus
Only for nights in Bally Grant.
I would swim over the deepest ocean,
The deepest ocean to be by your side...
But the sea is wide
And I cannot cross over,
Have neither I the wings to fly.
If I could find me a handsome boatman
To ferry me over to my love and die...
My childhood days bring back sad reflections
Of happy days I had so long ago.
My boyhood friends and my own relations
They've all passed away now like melting snow.
And I spend my days in endless roaming
Soft is the grass, my bed is free
Ah, to be back in Carrickfergus
On that old long road down to the sea.
But in Kilkenny it is reported
There're marble stones as black as ink.
With gold and silver I would support her,
But I'll sing no more now till I get a drink!
For I'm drunk today and I'm seldom sober,
A handsome rover from town to town.
Ah, but I'm sick now!.. Me days are over.
Come all ye young lads, and lay me down!..