I wish I was in Carrickfergus
Only for nights in Ballygrand
I would swim over the deepest ocean
Only for nights in Ballygrand
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 'flections
Of happy days so long ago
My boyhood friends and my own relations
Have all passed away now like melting snow
So I'll spend my days in endless roving
Soft is the grass and my bed is free
Ah to be home now in Carrickfergus
By the the long road down to the salty sea.
Now in Kilkenny it is reported
On marble stones there as black as ink
With gold and silver I would support her
But I'll say no more now till I?ve had 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 and my days are numbered
So come all ye young men and lay me down.