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