"The Ferryman", also sometimes known as "The Strawberry Beds",[1] is an Irish folk ballad, written by Pete St. John.[2]
Set in modern-day Dublin in Ireland,[1] as with other works by St. John, "The Ferryman" relates to economic change in the city. The song is a monologue, by a former pilot of a ferry on the River Liffey to his wife, Molly, as he contemplates the implications of his unemployment.[citation needed]
Despite the unpleasant subject matter, the song ends optimistically, with the declaration "we're still living, and ... we're still young, and the river never owned me heart and soul".[citation needed]