Cygnet Ring

We were very tired, we were very merry—

We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;

And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there

And Old Saint Nick came home, arms akimbo,

Saw Agnes carved a cygnet, and Richie cut his hair.

Sing loudly, Bon Jovi, Burl Ives, Imogen.

Write me a letter, send it by mail,

Send it in care of the Birmingham Jail.

Give my heart ease love, give my heart ease,

Build me a castle,

Quicken Thou Me.

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Lines 1-3: "Recuerdo" by Edna Saint Vincent Millay

Line 4: "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement Clark Moore 

Richie cut his hair, ref. Wes Anderson's, "The Royal Tenenbaums"

Lines 8-11: "Down In the Valley," trad. American folk song

Line 12: Psalm 119:25, KJV