Big Joe And Phantom 309
 
 See, I just happened to be back on the East coast a few years back
 I was tryin' to make me a buck like everybody else
 I'll be damned if times didn't get hard, and Christ I got down on my luck
 And I got tired of just roamin' and bummin' around
 So I started thumbin' my way back to my old hometown
 
 And you know, I made quite a few miles in the first couple of days
 You know, I figured I'd be home in a week if my luck held out this way
 You know, it was the third night, oh and I got stranded
 And it was out at a cold lonely crossroads
 And as the rain came pouring down, man I was hungry
 Yeah, I was hungry, tired and freezin', caught myself a chill
 
 But it was just about that time
 Yeah, it was just about that time that the lights of an ol' semi topped the hill
 You should've seen me smile when I heard them air brakes come on
 Yeah, and I climbed up into that cab where I knew it'd be warm
 At the wheel... well, at the wheel sat a big man
 And I'd have to say he must've weighed two ten
 As he stuck out a big hand and he said with a grin
 'Big Joe's the name, and this here rig's called Phantom 309'
 
 Well, I asked him why he called his rig such a name
 And you know, he turned to me and said '
 Why son, don't you know this here rig'll be puttin' 'em all to shame
 Nah, there ain't a driver
 No, there ain't a driver on this or any other line for that matter that...
 That's seen nothin' but the taillights of Big Joe and Phantom 309'
 So we rode and we talked the better part of the night
 And I told my stories and Joe told his
 And I smoked up all his Viceroys as we rolled along
 Pushed her ahead with 10 forward gears
 Man, that dashboard was lit like the old Madam La Rue pinball
 Serious semi truck
 
 Till almost mysteriously...
 Well, it was the lights of a truck stop that rolled into sight
 Joe turned to me, said 'I'm sorry son, but I'm afraid this is just as far as you go, you see...
 You see, I kinda gotta be makin' a turn just up the road a piece'
 I'll be damned if he didn't toss me a dime as he threw her in low and said
 'Go on in there son, and get yourself a hot cup of coffee on Big Joe'
 I mean to tell you, when Joe and his rig pulled off into the night
 Man, in nothing flat they was clean outta sight
 
 So I walked into this stop, well I ordered me up a cup of mud,
 sayin' 'Big Joe's settin' this dude up',
 but it got so deadly quiet in that place
 Yeah, it got so deadly quiet in that place, you could've heard a pin drop
 And as the waiter's face turned kinda pale I said,
 'What's the matter, did I say somethin' wrong?'
 I kinda said with a half way grin
 He said, 'No son, you see it'll kinda happen every now and then
 Cause every driver in here knows Big Joe, son, but...
 
 But let me tell you what happened just 10 years ago out there
 Yeah, it was 10 years ago, out there at that cold lonely crossroads
 And there was a whole bus load of kids
 And then they were just comin' from school
 And they were right in the middle when Joe topped the hill and...
 They could've been slaughtered except Joe turned his wheels
 And he jacknifed, yeah he jacknifed, and he went into a skid
 And you know, folks around here, well...
 They say he gave his life to save that bunch of kids
 And out there at that cold lonely crossroads
 Well, they're saying it was the end of the line for Big Joe and Phantom 309
 
 'But it's funny you know, cause... cause every now and then
 Yeah, every now and then when the moon's holdin' the water
 Well, they say that old Joe'll stop and give you a ride
 It seems, just like you, some hitchhiker'll be comin' by'
 'So here, son,' he said to me, 'you get yourself another cup of coffee
 It's on the house, I kind of want you to hang on to that dime
 Yeah, I kind of want you to hang on to that dime as a souvenir
 I want you to keep that dime as a souvenir of Big Joe
 Of Big Joe and Phantom
 Big Joe and Phantom 309'