# The Way -- What's it mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 6, 1999, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-way-whats-it-mean/3070 "1999-09-06T00:18:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AmyG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@AmyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmyG)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 1999, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-way-whats-it-mean/3070/1 "1999-09-06T00:18:00Z")
I’m thinking of the song by Fastball that runs, in part: “Where were they going without ever knowing the way?” It seems to me that I might be missing something in the meaning of the song. Is it just about two folks who pick up, drive off, and leave the kids behind, or is there something deeper? The words suggest the couple might be dead (“They’ll never get hungry; they’ll never get old and grey”), but it could be that I’m reading far too much into this. Thanks! –Amy ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 1999, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-way-whats-it-mean/3070/2 "1999-09-06T02:05:00Z")
Going by what I remember from Pop-Up Video :): The song was inspired by a newspaper article about a couple that was missing. The songwriter imagined that the couple had left all their worries behind and taken off for who-knows-where to start a new life. The line “Where were they going without ever knowing the way” refers to the idea that the couple was improvising on their quest for a new life. In reality, the couple was found at the bottm of an embankment, with the couple’s dead bodies inside. Hopefully my memory is serving me right. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Barr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rich\_Barr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Barr)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 1999, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-way-whats-it-mean/3070/3 "1999-09-06T04:31:00Z")
Man, that’s depressing. I think I’ll go listen to the Spice Girls. * * * Rich Barr [massivemaple@hotmail.com](mailto:massivemaple@hotmail.com) AOL Instant Messenger: Hrttannl ---
**Author:** ![EnigmaOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EnigmaOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnigmaOne)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 1999, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-way-whats-it-mean/3070/4 "1999-09-06T05:23:00Z")
{{{In reality, the couple was found at the bottm of an embankment, with the couple’s dead bodies inside.}}}—Strainger ## ::: :Double-take::: Huh? – **Kalél** _Common ¢ for all ages…_ “Well, there was that thing with the Cheese-Wiz…but I’m feeling much better now!” – John Astin, Night Court ---
**Author:** ![Nickrz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@Nickrz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nickrz)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 1999, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-way-whats-it-mean/3070/5 "1999-09-06T12:53:00Z")
I’d like to have seen the autopsy results! ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 1999, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-way-whats-it-mean/3070/6 "1999-09-07T05:30:00Z")
FWIW, _The Way_ is sometimes used to describe the path to _nirvana_ in Buddhism. And occasionally rockers surprise us by being deeper than they seem. ## p.s. I don’t know anything about Buddhism so don’t flame me for getting it too wrong. I just wanted to point out the possibility of a connection. “non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem” – William of Ockham ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 1999, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-way-whats-it-mean/3070/7 "1999-09-06T19:39:00Z")
EngimaOne: > [@](#): > > {{{In reality, the couple was found at the bottm of an embankment, with the couple’s dead bodies inside.}}}—Strainger > ::: Double-take::: Huh? . Whoops! I meant the couple’s **car** was found at the bottom of an embankment with their dead bodies inside. Sorry for the confusion! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 1999, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-way-whats-it-mean/3070/8 "1999-09-07T05:05:00Z")
I think “the way” is a fairly common theme in Eastern religions. IIRC in Taoism, Tao roughly translates to The Way. * * * Sue from El Paso [members.aol.com/majormd/index.html](http://members.aol.com/majormd/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-way-whats-it-mean/3070/9 "1999-09-08T00:11:00Z")
Mat 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. John 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Acts 18:25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. ========== So, ‘the way’ is used by many religions. However, looking at the original lyrics, it seems that ‘the way’ is being used quite mundanely. Peace. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-way-whats-it-mean/3070/10 "1999-09-08T12:26:00Z")
All of which reminds me of the line that the “ratings” for various religions are reported by the Tao Jones Averages. (Which isn’t funny unless you know that Tao is pronounced something like “dow”)