Phantom 309 Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Intro 1]
[C]

[Verse 1]
[C]I was out on the West Coast,
tryin' to make a [Em]buck
And things didn't work out,
I was down on my [F]luck
Got tired a- roamin' and bummin' around
[G]So I started thumbin' back East,
toward my home [C]town.

[Verse 2]
Made a lot [C]of miles,
the first two [Em]days
And I figured I'd be home in week,
if my luck held out this [F]way
But, the third night I got stranded,
way [G]out of town
At a cold, lonely crossroad[C]s,
rain was pourin' [G]down.[C]

[Verse 3]
I was hungry [C]and freezin',
done caught a [Em]chill
When the lights of a big semi
[F]topped the hill
Lord, I sure was glad to [G]hear
them air brakes come on
And I climbed in [C]that cab,
where I knew it'd be [Em]warm.

[Verse 4]
At the wheel sit a big man,
he weighed [F]about two- ten
He stuck out his hand and
[G]said with a grin
"Big Joe's the [Em]name",
[C]I told him mine
And he said: [G]"The name [C]of my
rig is [Em]Phantom 309."

[Verse 5]
I asked him why he called [Em]his
rig such [F]a name
He said: "Son,
this old Mack can put [G]'em all to shame
There ain't [Em]a driver, or a [C]rig,
a- runnin' any line
Ain't seen nothin' [Em]but taillights
from Phantom 309."

[Verse 6]
Well, we [F]rode and talked
the better part of the night
[G]When the lights of a truck stop came in sight
[C]He said: "I'm sorry son,
this is as far as you go
'Cause, I gotta make a turn,
just on up the [Em]road."

[Verse 7]
Well, he tossed me [Em]a dime
as he pulled her in [F]low
And said: "Have yourself
a [G]cup on old Big Joe."
[Em]When Joe and his[C] rig roared
out in the night
In noth[Em]in' flat,

[Verse 8]
he was clean out of sight.
[F]Well, I went inside and ordered me a cup
Told [G]the waiter Big Joe was
settin' me [Em]up[C]
Aw!, you coulda heard a pin drop,
it got [Am]deathly [C]quiet
And the waiter's face
turned kinda [Em]white.

[Verse 9]
Well, did I say something [Em]wrong?
I said with a halfway [F]grin
He said: "Naw,
this happens every [G]now and then
Ever' driver in here knows [C]Big Joe
But son, let me tell you what
happened [Em]about ten years ago.

[Verse 10]
At [F]the crossroads tonight,
where you flagged him down
There was a [G]bus load of kids,
comin' from town
[C]And they were right in the middle,
when Big Joe topped the hill
It could have been slaughter,
but he turned his [Em]wheel.

[Verse 11]
Well, Joe [Em]lost control, went [F]into a skid
And gave his life [G]to save that bunch- a kids
[C]An d there at that crossroads,
was the end of [Em]the line
For Big Joe and [F]phantom 309

[Verse 12]
But, every now [G]and then,
some hiker'll come by
And like you, Big Joe'll [C]give 'em a ride
Here, have another [G]cup[C]
and forget about the dime
Keep it as a souven[Em]ir,

[Outro 1]
from Big Joe and Phantom 309
[F][G]
[C]