I wish I were home now, 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, I cannot swim over And either 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 times, spent so long ago My girlhood friends and my own relations Have all passed on, like the melting snow And I'll spend my days in endless roaming Soft is the grass, and my bed is free Ah, to be home now in Carrickfergus On that 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 'til I've had a drink And I'm drunk today and I'm rarely sober As I roam on, from town to town Ah, but I'm sick now, and my days are numbered Come all ye young lads, and lay me down Come all ye young lads, and lay me down