Tom Waits The Ballad of Big Joe and Phantom 309 Lyrics

"Well now, it's story time again. I'm gonna tell you a story 'bout a truck driver. This story was written by a guy named Red Sovine, and it's called the Ballad of 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 d___ed if times didn't get hard, and Christ I got down on my luck
And I got tired of just roamin' and b__min'(2) around
So I started thumbin' (3)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(4)
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 d___ed 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(5),
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(4)
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'