I wish I was in Carrickfergus Only for nights in Ballygrand I would swim over the deepest ocean Only for nights in Ballygrand But the sea is wide and I cannot swim over And neither have I the wings to fly I wish I had a handsome boatsman To ferry me over my love and I My childhood days bring back sad reflections Of happy times we spent so long ago My boyhood friends and my own relations Have all past on now like melting snow And I've spend my days in seamless roving Soft is the grass and my bed is free Ah to be back now in Carrickfergus On that long winding road down to the sea Now in Kilkenny it is reported On marble stones there as black as ink With gold and silver I would support her But I'll sing no more now 'til I get a drink Cause I'm drunk today and I'm seldom sober A handsome rover from town to town Ah, but I'm sick now my days are numbered Come all young men and lay me down