Capo 4th fret
I wish I was, in Carrickfergus
Only for nights, in Ballygrant
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 nor have I the wings to fly
If I could find me a handy boatman
To ferry me over to my love and die
My childhood days bring back sad reflections
Of happy time spend so long ago.
My boyhood friends and my own relations
Have all passed on like the melting snow
I’ll 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 I did support her
But I’ll sing no more now till I get a drink
For I’m drunk today and I’m rarely sober
A handsome rover from town to town
Oh but I am sick now and my days are numbered
so come on ye young men and lay me down