THE SPALPEENS

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The Stories Behind the Songs We Sing

Carrickfergus

Mystery and perhaps a bit of blarney surround the origins of the melancholic ballad, Carrickfergus. Some say it was written to commemorate the capture of the town of Carrickfergus near Belfast by the French in 1760. Supposedly it was written by a French admiral, in English, borrowing an old Irish air. That strikes many as improbable. As does the story of Dominc Behan, the singing brother of poet Brendan Behan.

      Dominic made the song popular during the early folk years of the sixties and was likely the first to record it. He claims to have learned the song from the actor Peter O’Toole sometime in the fifties. Behan also said that after hearing O’Toole’s version he wrote several new verses himself. Oh, and he called it “The Kerry Boatman.”

      Adding more to the mystery is the version recorded by the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem in the sixties in which their lyrics differ from Behan’s version. There are those who look a bit askance at many Clancy treatments of traditional songs. They suggest that the words often were altered by them to make a rhyme that had no real reason. But isn’t that what folk music is supposed to be about?

      In Carrickfergus, for instance, many have debated the meaning of the first line found in the Clancy version: “I wish I was in Carrickfergus, only for nights in Ballygrand.” What DOES that mean? Do you want to be in Carrickfergus or Ballygrand? And why just nights?

      In Dominic Behan’s version, he sings “I wish I was in Carrickfergus, Elphin, Aoidtrim, or Balygrind.” Others who have sung it substitute “Antrim, Dunluce, or the Belfast plain,” for Behan’s town names.

      On one point everyone agrees. The word for castle in Irish is “carrick,” and therefore Carrickfergus literally means the castle of Fergus. (Most likely Fergus Davis, the great-great-great-great-etc-grandfather of Bill Davis.)

      Meanwhile, the town of Carrickfergus, centered on its 1,000 year old castle, lies in Ulster on the Northern Ireland coast. And yes, there was a siege there in 1760. But as with many old folk songs, the real origin will probably never be known and is destined to be argued for years to come. The words, even the tune itself, have been ascribed to a variety of sources.

            (For some fascinating glimpses into the background of this tune, checkout www.mudcatcafe.com. There you can find discussions on almost any folk song you can think of.)

Traditional/Author Unknown

Key of Bb(Capo 3; Play G progression chords)

Am               D7                  G

I wish I was in Carrickfergus,
Em          Am    D7         G

Only for nights in Ballygrand
                        Am D7               G

I would swim over the deepest ocean,
Em               Am     D7             G

The deepest ocean my love to find


   Chorus

            G                                                            D

But the sea is wide and I cannot swim over
                    Em      Am    D7

And neither have I wings to fly
              Am            D7              G

I wish I could meet a handsome boatman
Em               Am             D7          G

To ferry me over, to my love and die.

           My childhood days bring back sweet reflections
         Of happy times I spent so long ago,
        My childhood friends and my own relations
        Have all passed on now like melting snow.

     Chorus

    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.

    Ah, but in Kilkenny, it is reported,
     They have marble stones there as black as ink
     With gold and silver I would support her,
      But I'll sing no more 'till I get a drink.

     Chorus

          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 you young men and lay me down.

            Carrickfergus Traditional, Sung by Kelly Davis Morton, Arrangement by The Spalpeens.

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