I wish I was in Carrickfergus,
Only for nights in Ballygrand
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
Neither have I the wings to fly
If I could fine me a handsome boatman
To ferry me over, to my love and die

My childhood days bring back sad reflections
Of happy times spend so long ago,
My childhood 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

'Cause I'm drunk today and I'm seldom sober
A handsome rover from town to town
But I am sick now and my days are numbered,
Come all you young men and lay me down