# Norwegian / English: The white line



## Gulljenta

I'm trying to translate some of Tom Waits' lyrics to Norwegian, and in the song "San Diego serenade", he sings:
"I never saw the white line, 'til I was leaving you behind".

What does this mean?

I am norwegian, but if you can't translate, but explain it to me in English, I would be very happy as well.


----------



## Grefsen

Velkommen til  nordiske språkforumet *Gulljenta!* 



Gulljenta said:


> I'm trying to translate some of Tom Waits' lyrics to Norwegian, and in the song "San Diego serenade", he sings:
> "I never saw the white line, 'til I was leaving you behind".
> 
> What does this mean?


I believe what Waits is referring to in the lyrics of this song is "the white line" that one sees in the rear view mirror of their car when they are driving away.



Gulljenta said:


> I am *N*orwegian, but if you can't translate, but explain it to me in English, I would be very happy as well.


I'd be curious to know what expression Norwegians use for "the white line" that divides lanes of traffic. 

På forhånd takk!


----------



## panjandrum

See also The white line - the EO version of this question


----------



## Gulljenta

Grefsen said:


> Velkommen til  nordiske språkforumet *Gulljenta!*
> 
> I believe what Waits is referring to in the lyrics of this song is "the white line" that one sees in the rear view mirror of their car when they are driving away.
> 
> I'd be curious to know what expression Norwegians use for "the white line" that divides lanes of traffic.
> 
> På forhånd takk!


Thank you very much! 

In Norwegian the line is yellow, and we may call it "gulstripa", "gul-linja" or "midt-linja". The last means the center line.


----------



## Grefsen

Gulljenta said:


> Thank you very much!


Vær så god. 



Gulljenta said:


> In Norwegian the line is yellow, and we may call it "gulstripa", "gul-linja" or "midt-linja". The last means the center line.


Where I live in Southern California we usually have double yellow lines that separate the traffic that is going in opposite directions.  The line that separates lanes of traffic going in the same direction is generally a broken white line.


----------



## Gulljenta

Grefsen said:


> Vær så god.
> 
> Where I live in Southern California we usually have double yellow lines that separate the traffic that is going in opposite directions.  The line that separates lanes of traffic going in the same direction is generally a broken white line.


Oh, well in that case we speak about the same line. 
We have a single broken white line to separate traffic in the same direction, and we call it "hvit-linja". You can also say "den hvite linja", of course.
The yellow line might be both single and double.


----------



## sendintheclowns

Indeed, but it means different things: In Norway, a double yellow line means that it separates more than one lane in each direction. In the U.S., it means that passing (overtaking, to the Brits) is not allowed. In Norway, a single, solid yellow line means no passing. 

Incidentally, I think the white line that Tom Waits refers to is the STOP LINE; the perpenticular line found at a stop sign. You are supposed to stop before it, but most people actually stop on top of it, in which case you can't see it until you drive off. This line is always white. I think that makes more sense than "the line that separates traffic in the same direction", which you surely can see all the time! 

In Norway, the stop sign is used very sparingly; in the US, it is at virtually every intersection.


----------



## Grefsen

sendintheclowns said:


> Indeed, but it means different things: In Norway, a double yellow line means that it separates more than one lane in each direction. In the U.S., it means that passing (overtaking, to the Brits) is not allowed. In Norway, a single, solid yellow line means no passing.


Tusen takk for det!  Here is a link I just found with some information about driving in Norway that includes a brief section about* Road surface markings*:

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Travel-g190455-c110294/Norway:Driving.In.Norway.html



sendintheclowns said:


> Incidentally, I think the white line that Tom Waits refers to is the STOP LINE; the perpenticular line found at a stop sign. You are supposed to stop before it, but most people actually stop on top of it, in which case you can't see it until you drive off. This line is always white. I think that makes more sense than "the line that separates traffic in the same direction", which you surely can see all the time!


God forklaring!   Jeg tror du kan være riktig om det.


----------



## Ben Jamin

Gulljenta said:


> Thank you very much!
> 
> In Norwegian the line is yellow, and we may call it "gulstripa", "gul-linja" or "midt-linja". The last means the center line.


 The lines separating lanes going in the same direction are also white in Norway. It's not clear in the songlyrics which of the lines was meant.


----------

