I wish I was in Carrickfergus
Only for nights in Ballygran
I would swim over the deepest ocean

Only for nights in Ballygran
Oh but the water is wide and I cannot swim over
And nor have I the wings to fly

I wish I could be a handy boatman
To ferry me over my love and I


My childhood days bring back sweet reflection
Of happy hours I 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 roaving
Soft as the grass I'm sure my bed is free

Oh to be back now in Carrickfergus
On that long mountain road down to the sea


Now in Kilkenny it is reported
They've marble stones as black as ink
With gold and silver I would support her

But I'll sing no more now till I get a drink

I'm drunk today and I'm seldom sober

A handsome rover from town to town
And I'm sick now my days are over
Come all you young men and lay me down (Repeat)