I wished I had you in Carrickfergus
Only for nights in Ballygrand
I would swim over the deepest ocean
The deepest ocean to be by your side

But the sea is wide and I can't swim over
And neither have I wings to fly
I wish I could find me a handy boatman
To ferry me over to my love and die

My childhood days bring back sad reflections
Of happy days so long ago
My boyhood friends and my own relations
Have all passed on like the melting snow

So I'll spend my days in endless roving
Soft is the grass and my bed is free
Oh to be home now in Carrickfergus
On the long road down to the salty sea

And in Kilkenny it is reported
On marble stone there as black as ink
With gold and silver I did support her
But I'll sing no more now till I get a drink

I'm drunk today and I'm rarely sober
A handsome rover from town to town
Oh but I am sick now and my days are numbered
Come all ye young men and lay me down