Close The Door
Waterdeep Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am like a salmon on
An upstream journey, then
Death to follow once I spawn
I have seen the big fish climb
The ladder at the reservoir
Watch 'em work like devils
CHORUS
Jesus I'm a sucker; I
Wish I believed less of the lies
Did anything I thought I knew
Turn out to be true?
Baby boys and little toys are all that I see anymore
Will somebody close the door?
It's cold outside
Every single time I thought that
I had figured it all out
I was run aground again and
Floundering with crazy doubt
Maybe every way I'd learned
To deal with the tragedy
Was just another junkyard find
Rust-eaten and raggedy
I have paced the floor at night
Staring in his tiny face
Swearing that I'll do my best
To make for him a solid place
Barring acts of God or even
Acts of other men, I'll be
The father that I always wished
I had been allowed to see
The lyrics of Waterdeep's song Close The Door express the singer's feeling of being lost and confused in life. He compares himself to a salmon on an upstream journey, heading towards his own death after spawning. This metaphor highlights his feeling of being trapped in a cycle of life that he cannot break free from. The Fisherman's ladder at the reservoir represents the climb to success and the struggles that come with it. The singers' use of the phrase "half delirious" suggests the turmoil and tireless effort that success can demand of a person, making them lose sight of why they started in the first place.
The chorus reflects his hopelessness and frustration, expressing a yearning for something more significant than the superficial life he currently leads. The lines "Jesus, I'm a sucker, I wish I believed less of the lies," echo his disillusionment with the world and his inability to separate truth from deception. He questions whether "anything I thought I knew turned out to be true," a line that emphasizes his skepticism and doubt.
The second verse speaks of his struggles with coming to terms with his situation. He reflects on how each time he thought he understood life, he was run aground and left struggling in confusion. The line "maybe every way I'd learned to deal with the tragedy was just another junkyard find," suggests that he's tried multiple ways of coping, but everything has led him to rock bottom. The singer then talks about his son, where he expresses his desire to be a better father than he had. The song ends with a glimmer of hope – by stating that if he can avoid God or other men's acts, he will be the father that he always wished he had had an opportunity to see. In the end, the song expresses the singer's realization about the harsh reality of life and the perpetual struggles that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Every time that I get down
Whenever I feel sad or depressed
I am like a salmon on
I feel like a salmon swimming against a strong current
An upstream journey, then
Trying to make progress despite adversity
Death to follow once I spawn
The struggle will ultimately lead to death
I have seen the big fish climb
I have observed successful people
The ladder at the reservoir
Achieving their goals
Watch 'em work like devils
They work extremely hard
Half delirious do they even know where they are?
They may be so focused on their goals that they lose perspective
Jesus I'm a sucker; I
Expressing frustration and disappointment in oneself
Wish I believed less of the lies
Wishing to be less naive and gullible
Did anything I thought I knew
Questioning the accuracy of my knowledge
Turn out to be true?
Wondering if everything I believed was actually true
Baby boys and little toys are all that I see anymore
Feeling like life is mundane and unexciting
Will somebody close the door?
Asking for a break from monotonous routine
It's cold outside
Feeling emotionally detached from the world
Every single time I thought that
Whenever I believed
I had figured it all out
That I had found a solution
I was run aground again and
But then I faced another obstacle
Floundering with crazy doubt
Feeling overwhelmed with uncertainty
Maybe every way I'd learned
Perhaps all of the lessons I've learned
To deal with the tragedy
For coping with loss
Was just another junkyard find
Proving to be ineffective and worthless
Rust-eaten and raggedy
Old and worn out
I have paced the floor at night
I have been unable to sleep
Staring in his tiny face
Gazing at my child's innocent face
Swearing that I'll do my best
Promising to be a devoted parent
To make for him a solid place
Creating a stable and supportive environment for my child
Barring acts of God or even
Assuming there are no unexpected interventions
Acts of other men, I'll be
I will be the father I never had
The father that I always wished
Being the kind of father I always hoped for
I had been allowed to see
But never had in my own life
Contributed by Liam C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@AllisonIsLivid
I'm thinking I can use this, because I've got some cathedral tomb raiding coming up, and I really do want some good puzzles in there. I'm going to complicate it a little, by making it a sequence of correct answers using the puzzle blocks to spell out seven words in a proper order.
My version is going to contain the complete words and their relevance:
Me - Du - Sa (Medusa, in this case, is the name of an old Druidic god-empress of serpents who once ruled the region.)
Me - Re - Si (the name of the chivalric kingdom this old cathedral was built in, and this adventure takes place in.)
Ma - Ed - Ar (the king consort of Medusa. Supposedly this cathedral was built on the site of his tomb when the lands were converted from Druidry.)
Ma - Ri - On (Marion being the first chivalric King of Meresi. He may have been buried in the Cathedral as a minor heroic figure.)
Mo - Rg - An (the dynastic name of the current rulers of Meresi, descended from King Marion and supposedly, the royal family of the old Druid kingdom.)
Go - Rg - On (the serpent women slain by heroes of the lost empire from which the chivalric kings arose. The crest of Meresi is a Gorgon's severed head.)
Er - Du - An (the Druidic name for the region, and the de-facto dynastic name of it's royal family line. The Morgans subsumed them and their land claims.)
In order to figure out the puzzle, the players will need to not only learn these words, they'll need to learn the history of this land, it's people, and so on. And they'll need to piece it together in order of that history. The old nation and the rulers who grew from it, then the new rulers and the nation that grew from them. Gorgon marking the middle point. The slaying of the serpent woman, just like the legends of old.
@linkatronic
I'm running Waterdeep Dragon Heist and looking to incorporate more puzzles into the game to keep my players engaged. This is exactly the kind of puzzle I want to use. Thanks for the video!
@WallyDM
You're welcome! Glad I could help. In total, I ran 5 puzzles in this campaign (ran it twice) that went over quite well. I'll be doing a video on them soon. :-)
@Mayonasium
I used a slightly modified version of this with my players today. They absolutely loved how simple it was and had a good laugh over how much they overthought the solution. Thanks!
@WallyDM
Hooray! I'm glad your players enjoyed the puzzle idea. Cheers!
@katekulas3853
I just found your channel a few days ago, and I am so glad that I did. You provide excellent explanations for gameplay and trap mechanisms. I'm just getting back into DMing after 2 years or so, and your content has been a huge help to me. Thank you!
@WallyDM
Hooray! Welcome back to DMing! Thank you for subscribing, I appreciate the kind words. Welcome to the channel! :)
@Foerick
When you played this one us, I immediately went for the red herring of XOBLOB, but I think it was Nicodemus who mentioned that Portal was also there. So then I systematically went through the different configurations, eliminating each previously used cube, Took a little while for me to realise that THEEYE was actually THE EYE and that was when I noticed the gap in the E E.
You also didn't do it justice about the 'failed their stealth checks', two players rolled ones and the third just failed... So we roleplayed the situation as Mirolyth jumped up exclaiming 'SOMETHING BRUSHED MY FOOT!' bumping into Xel who lets tripped and into Nicodmeus who clattered against the wall in his armour.
@WallyDM
Ah, yes... the failed Stealth check... I need to figure out how to do "D&D stories" videos on this channel... before I forget them (again), lol.
@sklinger
I'm running this very scenario tomorrow! And I was frantically trying to find something to flesh out the adventure. This is perfect!
@WallyDM
Awesome! Hope this works well for you! :)