Audio Samples

Carrickfergus

This Irish folk song was made popular in the 1960s by The Clancy Brothers and Dominic Behan, although the melody is much older. It has been recorded by artists as varied as Celtic Woman, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez.

This piece can be played on pedal harp or lever harp.

The harp & string quartet version below was recorded live at a wedding ceremony.

Harp & String Quartet

Lyrics

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 wings to fly
If I could find me a handsome boatsman
To ferry me over to my love and die

My childhood days bring back sad reflections
Of happy times spent 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

I'll spend my days in endless roaming
Soft is the grass, my bed is free
But I am sick now, and my days are numbered
Come all you young men and lay me down