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

These childhood places bring sad reflections
Of happy days spent so long ago
My girlhood friends and my own relations
Have all passed on like the melting snow

Now, I 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 as black as ink
With gold and silver he did support me
But I’ll sing no more now till I've had a drink

Well, I’m drunk today and I’m rarely sober
As I roam on from town to town
Oh, but I am sick now and my days are numbered
Come all you young lads and lay me down
Come all you young lads and lay me down