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Big Joe and Phantom 309
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Tom Waits
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Well you see I happened to be back on the east coast
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A few years back tryin' to make me a buck
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Like everybody else, well you know
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Times get hard and well I got down on my luck
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And I got tired of just roamin' and bummin'
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Around, so I started thumbin' my way
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Back to my old hometown
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You know I made quite a few miles
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In the first couple of days, and I
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Figured I'd be home in a week if my
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Luck held out this way
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But you know it was the third night
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I got stranded, it was out at a cold lonely
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Crossroads, and as the rain came
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Pouring down, I was hungry, tired
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Freezin', caught myself a chill, but
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It was just about that time that
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The lights of an old semi topped the hill
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You should of seen me smile when I
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Heard them air brakes come on, and
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I climbed up in that cab where I
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Knew it'd be warm at the wheel
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Well at the wheel sat a big man
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I'd have to say he must of weighed 210
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The way he stuck out a big hand and
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Said with a grin "Big Joe's the name
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And this here rig's called Phantom 309"
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Well I asked him why he called his
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Rig such a name, but he just turned to me
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And said "Why son don't you know this here
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Rig'll be puttin' 'em all to shame, why
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There ain't a driver on this
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Or any other line for that matter
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That's seen nothin' but the taillights of Big Joe
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And Phantom 309"
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So we rode and talked the better part of the night
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And I told my stories and Joe told his and
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I smoked up all his Viceroys as we rolled along
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He pushed her ahead with 10 forward gears
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Man that dashboard was lit like the old
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Madam La Rue pinball, a serious semi truck
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Until almost mysteriously, well it was the
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Lights of a truck stop that rolled into sight
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Joe turned to me and said "I'm sorry son
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But I'm afraid this is just as far as you go
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You see I kinda gotta be makin' a turn
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Just up the road a piece," but I'll be
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Damned if he didn't throw me a dime as he
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Threw her in low and said "Go on in there
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Son, and get yourself a hot cup of coffee
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On Big Joe"
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And when Joe and his rig pulled off into
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The night, man in nothing flat they was
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Clean outta sight
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So I walked into the old stop and
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Ordered me up a cup of mud sayin'
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"Big Joe's settin' this dude up" but
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It got so deathly quiet in that
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Place, you could of heard a pin drop
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As the waiter's face turned kinda
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Pale, I said "What's the matter did
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I say somethin' wrong?" I kinda
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Said with 8a half way grin. He said
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"No son, you see It'll happen every
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Now and then. You see every driver in
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Here knows Big Joe, but let me
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Tell you what happened just 10 years
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Ago, yea it was 10 years ago
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Out there at that cold lonely crossroads
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Where you flagged Joe down, and
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There was a whole bus load of kids
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And they were just comin' from school
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And they were right in the middle when
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Joe topped the hill, and could
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Have been slaughtered except
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Joe turned his wheels, and
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He jacknifed, and went
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Into a skid, and folks around here
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Say he gave his life to save that bunch
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Of kids, and out there at that cold
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Lonely crossroads, well they say it
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Was the end of the line for
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Big Joe and Phantom 309, but it's
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Funny you know, cause every now and then
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Yea every now and then, when the
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Moon's holdin' water, they say old Joe
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Will stop and give you a ride, and
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Just like you, some hitchhiker will be
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Comin' by"
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"So here son," he said to me, "get
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Yourself another cup of coffee, it's on the
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House, you see I want you to hang on
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To that dime, yea you hang on to that
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Dime as a kind of souvenir, a
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Souvenir of Big Joe and Phantom 309"
Phantom 309
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