I wish I was in Carrickfergus
Only for nights in Ballygrant
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 the wings to fly
I wish I had a handsome boatman
To ferry me over my love and I
My childhood days bring back sad reflections
Of happy times we spent so long ago
My boyhood friends and my own relations
Have all passed on now like melting snow.
So I'll spend my days in ceaseless roving
Soft is the grass; my bed is free
Oh, to be home now in Carrickfergus
On that long winding road down to the sea
Now in Kilkenny, it is reported
On marble stones there as black as ink
With gold and silver, I did support her
But I'll sing no more till I get a drink.
And 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
Come all ye young men and lay me down.
Come all ye young men and lay me down.