Leave one's way

[Nantes]

Hi guys,

I am Brazilian, but I consider myself as having native-level English or better. However I have always been puzzled by the meaning of one of the verses of "Here Without You" by 3 Doors Down.

"The miles just keep rolling
As the people leave their way to say hello (...)"

What is the meaning of "leave their way" in this case? My best guess is that the people stop what they are doing and/or deviate from the path they are walking just to say hello to the passing traveler.

Thanks.

[Academic Writing]

That's a tough one. I can't say for sure as I'm not certain of the song's meaning. Reading over the lyrics on another site, it seems to me that either (a) the speaker is alive and his former love is dead or (b) both are alive but very distant. I suspect that the former situation is the case because I think the song's use of "miles" might really be a figurative reference to time.

If that is true, then I suspect that "leave their way" refers to other people dying and saying hello to the speaker's deceased love in some form of afterlife (or perhaps "saying hello" simply refers to people entering that afterlife or maybe it refers to greeting a deity). I don't know if my first interpretation is correct though. Perhaps there are some fan sites, or you might even consider sending an e-mail to the band or its representatives. You might just get a response directly from the source. :)

[charliedeut]

I am Brazilian, but I consider myself as having native-level English or better.

I don't see how one can be better than native-speaker level . And I know one can be one's harshest critic, but even so, it seems a bit too much to state that

[Academic Writing]

I don't see how one can be better than native-speaker level . And I know one can be one's harshest critic, but even so, it seems a bit too much to state that

I thought that sounded a bit strange myself. :)

Also I should have said in Post 2 that I'm of course taking a guess here. Perhaps others who spend more time interpreting poetry and fiction would be able to come up with something better (I've probably only studied a handful of poems in the last decade).

[Nantes]

I don't see how one can be better than native-speaker level . And I know one can be one's harshest critic, but even so, it seems a bit too much to state that

I figured someone would be picky about that statement, hehe. It makes sense if you consider the average native doesn't have that good a grammar, makes alot of mistakes, doesn't know that much vocabulary, and so on. You only need to read Youtube comments, for instance, to realize this (yes, I know YT commenters can be from all over the world, but you get my point). I, however, read alot of old classics, am always seeking to learn minor intricacies of the language, and pay huge attention to the way I write. Therefore I do consider myself better than the average native!