Phantom
Tom S Lyrics

Well you see I happened to be back on the east coast
I was back on the east coast, trying to make some money, like everyone else.

Like everybody else, well you know
Like everyone else, times get tough and things start looking down.

Times get hard and well I got down on my luck
My luck was down and I was struggling to make ends meet.

And I got tired of just roamin' and bummin' around, so I started thumbin' my way
I was tired of wandering around aimlessly, so I began hitchhiking.

Back to my old hometown
I hoped to make it back to my hometown.

You know I made quite a few miles in the first couple of days, and I figured I'd be home in a week if my luck held out this way
I made good progress in the first few days and hoped to make it home in a week if things continued to go well.

But you know it was the third night I got stranded, it was out at a cold lonely Crossroads, and as the rain came pouring down, I was hungry, tired Freezin', caught myself a chill
Unfortunately on the third night, I got stranded at a cold, lonely crossroads in the rain, leaving me cold, hungry, and tired with a chill.

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, and I climbed up in that cab where I knew it'd be warm at the wheel
Just as I was at my lowest, the lights of a truck turned up, and I was overjoyed when air brakes came on. The driver welcomed me into his cab, which was warm and safe.

Well at the wheel sat a big man. I'd have to say he must of weighed 210
The driver was a large man, weighing around 210 pounds.

The way he stuck out a big hand and said with a grin "Big Joe's the name And this here rig's called Phantom 309"
The driver introduced himself as Big Joe and his truck as 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 putting 'em all to shame, why There ain't a driver on this Or any other line for that matter That's seen nothing but the taillights of Big Joe And Phantom 309"
When I asked the driver why he gave his truck such a name, he explained that his rig was the envy of all other drivers, and no one had ever gotten ahead of him on the road.

So we rode and 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
Joe and I spent most of the night driving and chatting. I shared some stories, and Joe gave me his cigarettes to smoke.

Man that dashboard was lit like the old Madam La Rue pinball, a serious semi truck
The dashboard of the semi was brightly lit, like a pinball machine, and was an impressive sight for a serious truck.

Until almost mysteriously, well it was the Lights of a truck stop that rolled into sight
Almost suddenly, the lights of a truck stop appeared on the horizon.

Joe turned to me and said "I'm sorry son But I'm afraid this is just as far as you go You see I kinda gotta be making a turn Just up the road a piece," but I'll be Damned 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"
Joe dropped me off at a truck stop, apologizing that he could not take me further. Nonetheless, he gave me a dime and offered me a cup of coffee, insisting that it was on him.

And when Joe and his rig pulled off into The night, man in nothing flat they was Clean outta sight
As Joe drove away into the darkness, he quickly disappeared from my sight.

So I walked into the old stop and Ordered me up a cup of mud sayin' "Big Joe's settin' this dude up" but It got so deathly quiet in that Place, you could of heard a pin drop
I went to the truck stop and ordered some coffee, joking to myself that Joe had set me up. But it suddenly became deathly quiet in there.

As the waiter's face turned kinda Pale, I said "What's the matter did I say somethin' wrong?" I kinda Said with a halfway grin
The waiter turned pale, and I asked if I had said something wrong, albeit jokingly.

He said "No son, you see It'll happen every Now and then. You see every driver in Here knows Big Joe, but let me Tell you what happened just ten years Ago, yea it was ten years ago
The waiter explained that something happened ten years ago involving Big Joe, and that all the drivers knew him.

Out there at that cold lonely crossroads Where you flagged Joe down, and There was a whole bus load of kids And they were just coming 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 jackknifed, and went Into a skid, and folks around here 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
The waiter related an incident in which Big Joe saved a whole school bus full of kids by jackknifing his rig to stop it and prevent a collision. Sadly, this accident was to be his last.

Funny you know, cause every now and then Yea every now and then, when the Moon's holdin' water, they say old Joe Will stop and give you a ride, and Just like you, some hitchhiker will be Comin' by
The waiter joked that Joe comes back to life every once in a while, picking up hitchhikers along the road just like he did with me, when the moon is holding water.

"So here son," he said to me, "get Yourself another cup of coffee, it's on the House, you see I want you to hang on To that dime, yea you hang on to that Dime as a kind of souvenir, a Souvenir of Big Joe and Phantom 309"
The waiter advised me to get another coffee, on the house, and hold onto the dime Joe gave me as a souvenir of my meeting with both him and Phantom 309.