Carrickfergus (Irish folk song from Co. Antrim)

from Cover me by Mark O'Connor

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

€1 EUR or more

about

This is an old Irish song. Its beauty is beyond belief. I hope I did alright by it. Dedicated to Dickie and Peter.

Recorded through a SM Beta 58 into a Tascam US-122 soundcard into a Mac. Performed on a Martin DC15E by an Irish guy living in Sydney. Wondering what the fuck. The main track was recorded first, guitar and voice, and backing vocals and whatthefuck guitar solo added thereafter.

lyrics

I wish I was in Carrickfergus
Only for nights in Ballygrand
I would swim over the deepest ocean
Only for nights in Ballygrand
But the sea is wide and I cannot swim over
And neither have I the wings to fly
I wish I had a handsome boatsman
To ferry me over my love and I

My childhood days bring back sad reflections
Of happy times there spent so long ago
My boyhood friends and my own relations
Have all past on now with the melting snow
So I'll spend my days in this endless roving
Soft is the grass and shore, my bed is free
Oh to be home now in carrickfergus
On the long road down to the salty sea

Now in Kilkenny it is reported
On marble stone there as black as ink
With gold and silver I would support her
But I'll sing no more now til I get a drink
Cause I'm drunk today and I'm seldom sober
A handsome rover from town to town
Ah but I'm sick now my days are numbered
Come all me young men and lay me down
Come all me young men and lay me down.

credits

from Cover me, track released November 11, 2015

license

about

Mark O'Connor Limerick, Ireland

If you like Mark O'Connor, you may also like:

Move To The Trees
by Winter McQuinn

Winter McQuinn mixes soft rock and psychedelic folk for a sound reminiscent of classic pop purveyors like Cut Worms and the Lemon Twigs. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 16, 2024
go to album
Up On Gravity Hill
by METZ

The Canadian trio's knack for writing bangers plots a steady course through the maelstrom. Bandcamp Album of the Day Apr 12, 2024
go to album
La nuit sauvage
by Tonnerre

featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 12, 2024
go to album
Summer Of Love
by Jess Ribeiro

Backed by a rotating cast of collaborators, the Australian singer-songwriter refines her folk-tinged indie pop sound. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 11, 2024
go to album
See the World on Fire
by the Ar-Kaics

On their first new record in six years, the Virginia garage punkers take on the end of the world with the requisite clang and clamor. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 9, 2024
go to album
Dreamachine
by Habibi

Habibi's garage minimalism has a bit of post-punk, bubblegum, and indie in its DNA, but remains something entirely, coolly their own. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 30, 2024
go to album
Notebook Fantasy
by Chicano Batman

Chicano Batman expand their sweet sound and push the boundaries of Latin indie on their latest LP. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 30, 2024
go to album