I wish I was in Carrickfergus,
Only for nights in Ballygrand
I would swim over the deepest ocean,
The deepest ocean for my love to find
But the sea is wide and I cannot swim over
And neither have I 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 times I spent so long ago
My boyhood friends and my own relations
Have all passed on now like melting snow
But I'll spend my days in endless roaming,
Soft is the grass, my bed is free
Ah to be back in Carrickfergus
On that long road down to the sea
And in Kilkenny it is reported
There are 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
I'm drunk today and I'm seldom sober,
A handsome rover from town to town
Ah, but I'm sick now, my days are numbered
So come all ye young men and lay me down
