Tom Waits Big Joe And Phantom 309 Lyrics

I just happened to be back on the east coast a few years back
I was trying to make me a buck like everybody else
I was glad if times didn't get hard, Christ I got down on my luck
And I got tired of just roamin' and b__min' around
So I started thumbing my way back to my old hometown
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 I got stranded
It was out at a cold lonely crossroads as the rain came pouring down
Man I was a hungry, I was a hungry, tired,freezing, caught myself a chill
It was just about that time...
It was just about that time that the lights of an old semi topped the hill
you should of seen me smile when I heard them air brakes come on
yeah and I climbed up in that cab where I knew it'd be warm
At the wheel, well at the wheel sat a big man
I'd have to say he must of weighed 210
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
But he just turned to me and said
"Why son don't you know this here rig'll be puttin' 'em all to shame
Why there ain't a driver, no there ain't a diver on this
Or any other line for that matter that's seen nothing
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
A serious semi truck
Until almost mysteriously
Well it was the lights of a truck stop that rolled into sight
Joe turned to me and 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"
But I'll be d___ed if he didn't throw 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 man, when Joe and his rig pulled off into the night
Man in nothing flat they was clean outa sight
So I walked into the stop and ordered me up a cup of mud saying
"Big Joe's settin' this dude up" but
It got so deathly quiet in that place
Yeah got so deathy quiet in that place you could of 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 let me tell you what happened just ten years ago
Yeah it was ten years ago out there at that cold lonely crossroads
There was a whole bus load of kids and they were just comin' from school
And they were right in the middle when Joe topped the hill
And could have been slaughtered except Joe turned his wheels
And he jacknifed, yeah, he jacknifed and he went into a skid
You know folks around here, well say he gave his life to save that bunch of kids
And out there at that cold lonely crossroads
Well they say 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' water
Well they say old Joe will stop and give you a ride
It seems just like you, some hitchhiker will be coming by"
"So here son," he said to me
"You get yourself another cup of coffee, it's on the house
I kinda want you to hang on to that dime
Yeah I kinda want you hang on to that dime as a kind of souvenir
I want you to keep that dime as a souvenir of Big Joe
Of Big Joe and Phantom, Big Joe and Phantom 309"