The novel takes its title from the incipit of the famous Psalm 137: By the Rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion (KJV).
The title is taken from Psalm 137:5—"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem"—which consists of the writer lamenting over the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army.
Psalm 23 | Psalm 51 | Psalm 137 | Illinois Route 137 | Psalm 93 | Psalm 90 | Psalm 9 | Psalm 78 | Psalm 69 | Psalm 48 | Psalm 39 | Psalm 27 | Psalm 22 | Psalm 19 | Psalm 150 | Psalm 148 | Psalm 147 | Psalm 119 | Psalm 100 | No. 137 Squadron RAF | Frame 137 | Bay Psalm Book | 137 |
The poem about Avalon that Corwin quotes to Ganelon alludes to both Psalm 137 ("By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion") as well as to a classic nursery rhyme ("How many miles to Babylon? Threescore miles and ten").
Homesickness is an ancient phenomenon, mentioned in both the Old Testament book of Exodus and Psalm 137:1 ("By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.") and Homer's Odyssey, whose opening scene features Athena arguing with Zeus to bring Odysseus home...because he is homesick.