#I WISH I WAS IN CARRICKFERGUS LYRICS MAC#

Some want to set the story in the South of Ireland and they see the name of Fergus,as the river that runs through Ennis County of Clare.Ģ) Ballygran – Ballygrant – Ballygrand.

Here the protagonist says he wants to be at Carrickfergus (but evidently he is somewhere else) while in other versionssays “I wish I had you in Carrickfergus”: the meaning of the song changes completely. They’ve marble stones there as black as ink,ġ) Carrickfergus (from the Gaelic Carraig Fhearghais, ‘Rocca di Fergus’) is a coastal town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, one of the oldest settlements in Northern Ireland. Loreena McKennitt & Cedric Smith from Elemental, 1985 In my opinion, the general meaning of the text remains clear enough, but if you go into detail then many doubts arise, which I tried to summarize in the notes. Kennedy Jr -1999).Ĭertainly it has something magical, sad and nostalgic, the man drowns in alcohol the pain of separation from his beloved (or more likely he drinks because he has a particular predilection for alcohol): a vast ocean divides them (or a stretch of sea) and he would like to be in Ireland, in Carrickfergus: he would like to have wings or to swim across the sea or more realistically find a boatman to take him to her, and finally he can die in her arms ( or at her tombstone) now that he is old and tired. The sweet melancholy of the melody and its uncertain textual interpretation have made the song very popular, some capture the romantic side and also play it at weddings, others at the funeral (for example that of John F. Is ní bheidh sí reidh liom go Féil’ Mhichíl /I’m seldom drunk though I’m never sober!ġ) “baile cuain”= “quiet town” or Harbour Town THE VERSION OF THE YEARS 60 AND MEANINGĪnd we come to what remains of this song in our day, that is the version of Carrickfergus spread by the major interpreters of Celtic music. Is go bhfuil an leabhar orm ó Shamhain go Fébur Tá an fuacht ag teacht is an teas ag tréigint Ní fada ón áit sin go Baile Uí Chuain(1)/Sailing over the deep blue waters/ I ndiaidh mo ghrá geal is í ag ealó uaim./For the seas are deep, love, and I can’t swim over

The cold and the heat are going together Īnd if I took my oath from November to FebruaryĬome Molly, my little darling, now lay me down!Īch d’fhag sí ann é os comhair an tsaoil.ĭá bhfaighinnse a ceannsa faoi áirsí an teampaill,Īch anois táim tinn lag is gan fáil ar leigheas agam. If I had got that head of hers into the churchīut now I’ weak and sore, and there’s no getting of a cure for me,įor the seas are deep, love, and I can’t swim over Sean o’Shea in “Ò Riada Sa Gaiety” live in Dublino with the Ceoltóirí Chualann, 1969.Īnd she made a cuckold (or a fool ) of me before the world,

#I WISH I WAS IN CARRICKFERGUS LYRICS MAC#

Certainly the text is taken from the poetry of Cathal “Buí” Mac Giolla Ghunna. This version has been attributed musically to Seán Ó Riada (John Reidy 1931-1971) it is not clear if it is only an arrangement or a real writing of the melody. Also the Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem made their own version with the title “Carrickfergus” in the 1964 “The First Hurray” LP.Ĭhieftains from “ The Chieftains Live” 1977 In Blacklion County of Cavan there is also a small stele in his memory and it is celebrated the Cathal Bui Festival (month of June).Ī incomplete priest able with words and with women, he also had a lot of “irish humor” and was obviously a heavy drinker, he went around Breifne, the Irish name of the area including Cavan, Leitrim, and south of Fermanagh ( one of the many traveler with his caravan or even less).īut it is the version known by Peter O’Toole that was the origin of the version of Dominic Behan recorded in the mid-1960s under the title “ The Kerry Boatman“, and also the version recorded by Sean o’Shea always in the same years with the title “ Do Bhí Bean Uasal”. The scholar Breandán Ó Buachalla has published his collection in the book “Cathal Bui: Amhráin” in 1975. Cavan.Ĭurious character nicknamed “Buil” the yellow, a bard vagabond storyteller and composer of poems, which have spread throughout Ireland and are still sung today. Cathal “Buí” Mac Giolla Ghunna (c1680-c1756) a rake-poet from Co.

I wish i was in carrickfergus lyrics