If anyone's interested, I found the original of the riddle I asked way back at the start of this thread:

Cut off my head, and singular I am,
Cut off my tail, and plural I appear,
Although my middle's left, there's nothing there!
What is my head? A sounding sea;
What is my tail? A rushing river.
And in their mingling depths I fearless play,
Parent of sweetest sounds yet mute forever.

Steve