This is Son Volt singer Jay Farrar, performing an acoustic version of the country-rock band’s song, “Way Down Watson.” It is based on the demolition of the Coral Court Motel on Watson Road, aka Route 66, in St. Louis in 1995.
It’s a bit hard to hear the words, so here are the song’s lyrics from Farrar’s Web site:
Put whiskey on the wounds
Salt the glass
and say goodbye
No feel-good scenes
to bring it back
Just fallen brick
and broken glass
Wrecking ball operator
pulling the lever
These windows
shield the cold
from the weather
of my soul
Feel the heart strings
sinking fast
Another treasure found
tumbling down
I protect my ears and eyes
From the dust and noise
Word comes down
to the bitter end
The diesel hums
The cycle spins
When we meet
on that hard hat ground
Just a photograph
No one else around
Words to live by
It just goes to show
Someday we gotta go
Feel the heart strings
sinking fast
Another treasure found
Another tumbling down