# Whats with the 309 \[in song\]?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-309-in-song/518770
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 24, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-309-in-song/518770 "2009-11-24T13:57:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@longerjohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longerjohn)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-309-in-song/518770/1 "2009-11-24T13:57:48Z")
I have been fond of the storytelling type of country music for many years. Way back there was a song with Red Sovine called Phantom 309 and on Johnny Cash’s last album is a song called “Like the 309”. Whats with this number? is it a magic ghost/death number or is there a train with this number that freights bodies?
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### Author:  [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-309-in-song/518770/2 "2009-11-24T14:16:37Z")
Nothing of substance to add, unfortunately, but I just wanted to note that the bus that goes past my house is the 309, so if there is any significance, that would be a useful addition to my collection of useless trivia.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-309-in-song/518770/3 "2009-11-24T14:29:20Z")
I used to commute up Rte. 309.
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### Author:  [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-309-in-song/518770/4 "2009-11-24T14:45:37Z")
Looks like there’s no relation.
> [@](#):
>
> “Like the 309” is a song by Johnny Cash, it is featured on his 2006 posthumous album , it is also the last song he wrote.[1] The song makes reference to a man’s casket being transported by a train, “the 309,” with the lines such as “Put me in my box on the 309.”
[http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Like+the+309](http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Like+the+309)
> [@](#):
>
> On the third day of his return, while at a crossroads in a driving rain, Sovine is picked up by “Big Joe” driving his tractor-trailer named “Phantom 309”.
> **[Phantom 309](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_309_%28Red_Sovine_song%29)**
>
> "Phantom 309" is a song written by Tommy Faile and released as a single by Red Sovine in 1967. It was a minor hit, peaking at number nine on the Billboard country chart. The lyrics are spoken, rather than sung.
> The song tells of a hitchhiker (the singer, in first person) trying to return home from the West Coast. On the third day of his trip, while at a crossroads in a driving rain, the hitchhiker is picked up by "Big Joe" driving his tractor-trailer named Phantom 309. After driving through the ...
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-309-in-song/518770/5 "2009-11-24T15:11:46Z")
Since this is about song lyrics, it may do better in CS than GQ. I have also edited the title to better indicate the subject.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
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### Author:  [@Discipline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Discipline)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-309-in-song/518770/6 "2009-11-24T15:16:35Z")
8675
Edit: I really have no idea. That was just the first thing through my head.
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### Author:  [@squirrel92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squirrel92)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-309-in-song/518770/7 "2012-09-28T20:01:17Z")
In both, men hear the promise of freedom in the whistle of trains. But while Folsom’s prisoner bemoans his confinement, the asthmatic in 309 is ready to be placed in a box — his coffin, perhaps — so the passing train can whisk him away. thats whats in the news, its pretty acurate if u ask me
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### Author:  [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-309-in-song/518770/8 "2012-09-28T20:05:47Z")
It’s interesting that this zombie should be resurrected on this date. According to the ‘SDMB Highlight Old Threads’ extension that I have installed, this thread is 2 years and **309** days old today…
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