Am         Dm            G     Am
I wished I had you in Carrick fergus
           Dm           G7     C
Only for nights in the Bally grand
Am           Dm         G      Am
I would swim over the deepest ocean
             Dm         G       C
The deepest ocean to be by your side

[Chorus]
         G      C           Dm         G
But the sea is wide, and I can't swim over
             C       Dm      G
And neither have I wings to fly
Am              Dm         G     Am
I wish I could find me a handy boatman
             Dm         G        C
To ferry me over to my love and die

[Verse 2]
Am            Dm              G     Am
My childhood days bring back sad reflections
          Dm       G    C
Of happy days, so long ago
Am           Dm            G     Am
My boyhood friends and my own relations
                Dm         G      C
Have all passed on, like melting snow

[Chorus]
     G             C        Dm      G
So, I'll spend my days in endless roving
              C          Dm      G
Soft is the grass and my bed is free
Am         Dm            G     Am
Oh, to be home now in Carrick fergus
                  Dm G              C
On the long road down to the salty sea

[Verse 3]
Am        Dm       G     Am
And in Kilkenny it is reported
           Dm             G       C
On marble stone there as black as ink
      Am        Dm  G        Am
With gold and silver I did support her
                  Dm      G              C
But I'll sing no more now, till I get a drink

[Chorus-Outro]
      G     C             Dm     G
I'm drunk today, and I'm rarely sober
            C          Dm      G
A handsome rover from town to town
    Am        Dm     G                   Am
Oh, but I am sick now and my day's are numbered
            Dm  G            C
Come all ye men, and lay me down