Phantom 309

Lyrics

I was out on the West Coast, uh y'see, tryna make a buck And things didn't work out, I was kinda d-down on my luck I just got tired of roamin' and, uh, bummin' around So I started thumbin' back East, t-toward my hometown Made a lotta miles the first two days And I figured I'd be home, I'd, I'd be home in week, if my luck held this way But, the third night, I got stranded way outside of town At a cold, lonely crossroads, and uh, the rain was a-pourin' down And I was hungry, and I was freezin', and done caught a chill When the lights of a big old semi topped the hill Lord, I's, I was sure glad to hear them airbrakes come on And I climbed in that cab, I knew it'd be warm At the wheel, uh, sat a big man, he weighed about two-ten, I'd say Stuck out his hand and said with a grin Uh, Big Joe's the name, and I-I told him mine He said, The name of my rig is Phantom 309 Well, I asked him, why, why he called his rig such a name He said, Son, this ol' Mack can put 'em all to shame There ain't a driver, or a rig, r-runnin' any line That's seen nothin' but t-tail-lights from Phantom 309 Well, w-w-w-w-we rode and we talked the best part of the night When the lights of a truck stop came, came into sight there He said, I'm sorry son, but this is far as you go 'Cause, I gotta, I g-, I've got to make another t-turn just up the road But, he-he tossed me a dime, and, as, as he pulled her in low And said, Have yourself a hot cup on, on ol' Big Joe When Joe and his big rig roared out into the night W-why in nothin' flat he was plumb outta sight Well, I went inside and ordered me a cup I-I told the waiter, Uh, looka here, Big Joe is settin' me up W-well, y-you coulda heard a pin drop, it got deathly quiet And the w-, and the waiter's face turned kinda white I, did, did I say something wrong? I said with a h-halfway grin, uh He said, Naw, this, this happens every now and then, uh Every driver in here knows Big Joe But son, let me tell you what happened about, uh, ten years ago At the crossroads tonight, where, w-w-where y-you flagged him down There was a busload of kids, a-comin' into town And they were r-right in the middle, uh, when Joe topped the hill It could have been slaughter, but, y'know, Joe turned his wheels Joe lost control, went into a s-skid, and Gave his life to save that buncha kids A-and there at that crossroads was the end, that was the end of the line For Big Joe and Phantom 309 But every now and then, uh, s-s-some hiker w-will come by And like you, Big Joe'll give 'em a dime Here, here, here, here, h-have another cup and forget about that dime, uh Keep it as a souvenir, from Big Joe and Phantom 309 J-j-j-just keep it now