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 times so long ago
My girlhood 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 black as ink
With gold and silver I did support her
But I'll sing no more 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