Lyrics

I wish I had you in Carrickfergus
only for nights, in Ballygran
I would swim over the deepest ocean
the deepest ocean to be by your side

But the sea is wide, and I can't cross 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 spent long ago
My boyhood friends, and my own relations have all passed on now
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 to the salty sea

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

Well, he's drunk today, and he's rarely sober
A handsome rover, from town to town
Oh but I'm sick now, and my days are numbered
So come all ye young men and lay me down