I found this phrase in some Chemical Brothers lyrics:
I thought we were going
To go up the field a ways
To join all the other living souls
But you never came
English's not my first language and I can't wrap my head around this. First, it looked grammatically incorrect to me, but a quick google landed me on a similar question here, discussing correctness of "a ways to go", but that was too unrelated.
I guess my question is: what does that line mean? I mean, without digging into interpretations of the song itself – I'm aware this is not a place to discuss meanings of lyrics. 🙂 Or in other words, what would be a rephrased, grammatically correct alternative form, with the same semantics?
Thank you!
Best Answer
"a ways" is another way to say "an indeterminate distance". It usually includes a qualifier such as "quite a ways" for a longer distance or "for a short ways" for a lesser distance.
It can also be used to describe a length of time.
"Ways" is defined in the "Dictionary of Americanisms, Briticism, Canadianisms and Australianisms" by V. S. Matyushenkov