Big Joe and Phantom 309

BIG JOE AND PHANTOM 309
(Tommy Faile/Copyright Fort Knox Music, Inc. and Trio Music Company, Inc.)

I was out on the east coast a few years back, tryin' to make a buck
Times got hard, don't you know I got down on my luck
I got tired a-roamin' and bummin' around
So I figured I'd thumb my way out west, back to my old hometown

I made quite a few miles in the first coupla days
Hell, I figured I'd be home in week if my luck held out this way
But don't you know it was the third night and I got stranded, way out of town
At a cold, lonely crossroads, rain pourin' down

I was hungry and freezin', caught myself a chill
When the lights of a big semi topped the hill
Man you shoulda seen me smile when I heard them air brakes come on
And I climbed up into that cab, where I knew it'd be warm

At the wheel sit a big man, he musta weighed about two-ten
He stuck out his hand and said with a grin
"Big Joe's the name", I told him mine
And he said: "And this here rig is called Phantom 309"

Well, I asked Joe why he called his rig such a name
Joe smiled and said: "Why son, don't you know this old Mack be puttin' 'em all to shame!
There ain't a driver, or a rig on this or any other line
seen nothin' but the taillights of Phantom 309"

So he pushed her ahead with 10 forward gears
I told my stories and Joe told his
dashboard was lit like a pinball machine
The most serious semi truck I think I've ever seen

Yeah, we rode and talked the better part of the night
Till almost mysteriously, the lights of an old truck stop came into sight
Joe said: "I'm sorry son, this is as far as you go.
You see, I kinda gotta be makin' a turn, just up the road."

But I'll be damned if he didn't toss me a dime as he threw it in low
And said: "Go inside there, son, and have yourself a cup of coffee on old Big Joe."
And I mean to tell ya, when Joe and his rig roared off in the night
-- man, in nothin' flat, they was clean outta sight

Well, I went inside that truck stop - well, I ordered me up a cup of mud
Sayin': "Big Joe is settin' this dude up!"
You coulda heard a pin drop, it got so deathly quiet
And as the waiter's face turned kinda white.

"What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?" I kinda said with a halfway grin
He said: "No son, this happens every now and then
You see, Every driver in here knows Big Joe
- but let me tell you what happened just ten years ago ...

It was out at that cold lonely crossroads where you musta flagged Joe down
There was a whole bus load of kids, they were comin' back from town
And they were right in the middle, when Joe topped the hill
could have been a slaughter, 'cept Joe turned his wheel

Yeah, he turned his wheel and went into a jackknife skid
And there's no doubt Joe gave his life to save that busload-a kids
And out there at that cold lonely crossroads, they're sayin' it was the end of the line
For Big Joe and Phantom 309 ...

But you know, it's funny every now and then, when the moon's holdin' water, ...

Ever' now then, some hitchhiker'll come inside
And just like you, say Big Joe just gave 'em a ride
So here son, have another cup and a slice o' pie - you don't have to pay
Cup o' coffee costs a buck fifty anyway, these days
I kinda want you to kinda hang onto that dime
as a souvenir, from Big Joe ... and Phantom 309."