I wish I was in Carrickfergus,
Only for nights in Ballygran
I would swim over the deepest ocean,
The deepest ocean, for my love to find
But the sea is wide and I cannot swim over
Nor have I the wings to fly
But I wish I could find a handsome boatman
To ferry me over, to my love and die

My childhood days bring back sad reflections
Of happy times I spent so long ago,
My boyhood friends and my own relations
Have all passed on now like 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 sea.

And in Kilkenny, it is reported,
There are marble stones as black as ink
With gold and silver I would support her,
But I'll sing no more 'till I get a drink.
Sure I'm drunk today, and I'm seldom sober,
A handsome rover from town to town,
Ah, but I'm sick now, and my days are numbered,
So come all you young men and lay me down