I wish I was
In Carrickfergus
Only for nights
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 can’t swim over
Neither have I wings to fly
If I could find me
A handsome boatman
To ferry me over
Over to my love and die

My childhood days
Bring back sad reflections
Of happy times
Spent so long ago

My boyhood friends
And my own relations
Have all passed on now
Like the melting snow
But I'll spend my days
In endless roaming
Soft is the grass
My bed is free

Ah to be back now
In Carrickfergus
On that long road
Down to the salty sea

And in Kilkenny
There it is reported
There are marble stones there
As black as any ink

With gold and silver
I would support her
But I'll sing no more now
Till I get a drink

But I am drunk today
And I'm seldom sober
A handsome rover
From town to town

Oh, but I'm sick now
And my days are numbered
So come here young men
And lay me down