Not that any of these issues have done much to affect the popularity of Carrickfergus. Whether the O’Toole link to its discovery is right or not, it seems likely that what has now become the generally accepted lyric is in fact an inaccurate recollection of a fuller and more consistent earlier version. Carrickfergus – a great but incomplete songĬarrickfergus is a great but possibly incomplete song. These appear as disconnected thoughts and may be a truncated version of an earlier, longer lyric. The song then takes a dramatic shift in mood as we discover that the singer is seldom sober and believes that his days are numbered and he hasn’t long to live. The third and final verse refers to marble stones in Kilkenny, supporting his love with gold and silver before suddenly announcing that the singer will perform no more until he gets a drink. These inconsistencies are particularly marked in the third verse. On the contrary, his claim is supported by the fact that the second verse is consistent and contains none of the anomalies of the other two verses which may have been modified over hundreds of years. Behan’s second verse is consistentīehan claimed to have written the second verse and there is no reason to doubt him. “Give me a boat that will carry two, and both shall row my love and I.” The last two words, “and I,” make sense in this version but they could easily could be misheard as “and die,” in the O’Toole/Behan version. Anomalies due to mishearings?Īgain, could the explanation be a mishearing? Other lyrics in similar songs have lines like: The second line brings us into familiar territory involving water keeping him apart from his love but then it gets a little strange again.Īs in most “water is wide” songs, he wishes for a boat to ferry him over to his love but it is expressed in a strange way: “to ferry me over to my love and die.” Does he mean he wants to be ferried over to see his love once more so he can die in peace? It is not convincing. I would swim over the deepest ocean Brendan Behan
It doesn’t seem to mean anything and one possible explanation is that O’Toole, or Behan or whoever passed on the song, may not have remembered the words correctly and so glossed over them. The question is, how reliable was O’Toole’s version of the song he probably first heard in childhood?įor example, the opening line is: “I wish I was in Carrickfergus, only for nights in Ballygran.” The first part about Carrickfergus is fine, but what does the second part mean? Behan said he learnt the song from the Irish actor Peter O’Toole. It was largely unknown before Dominic Behan recorded it in the early 1960s. This may be because of the unusual way in which the song was discovered and brought to a wider audience. You would definitely want a handsome (i.e., skillful) boatman to make that crossing.Carickfergus is one of the most popular of Irish songs but the meaning is sometimes unclear. “Almost 80 miles of the turbulent North Irish Sea separate Carrickfergus from Ballygrant. Ballygrant is across the Irish Sea on Islay in Scotland. There is no Ballygrant in Ireland either.Ī contributor known only as “Blade Thresher” on a Carrickfergus site explains much of the mystery. Why does the song abruptly switch to Kilkenny? Well, actually it doesn't. To strike that lonely road, down by the sea.”īut I'll sing no more now till I get a drink
You tube carrickfergus free#
Soft is the grass and sure, my bed is free “My childhood days bring back sweet reflections Here are the lyrics to "Carrickfergus" as most often sung:īut the sea is wide and I cannot swim over
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