The first song ("A Sweet Summer's Night On Hammer Hill") is Jens looking back at his youth in 93/94. He went to a summer carnival thats at a local landmark called Hammer Hill. He had so much fun with his friends and all the music playing, his heart kept racing in all the excitement.
In this song, jens returns to Hammer Hill in his adulthood (since this song was released in 04, one might assume he's returning a decade after the carnival.) There's no carnival there; it's just a memory in the past. Without the carnival to distract him, he remembers that, for several people he knew, their childhoods won't be fondly remembered as his was. This, of course, makes him sad. However, he can't think about the subject for long, because Hammer Hill is a beautiful place that will always hold a special place in his heart.
My theory:
The first song ("A Sweet Summer's Night On Hammer Hill") is Jens looking back at his youth in 93/94. He went to a summer carnival thats at a local landmark called Hammer Hill. He had so much fun with his friends and all the music playing, his heart kept racing in all the excitement.
In this song, jens returns to Hammer Hill in his adulthood (since this song was released in 04, one might assume he's returning a decade after the carnival.) There's no carnival there; it's just a memory in the past. Without the carnival to distract him, he remembers that, for several people he knew, their childhoods won't be fondly remembered as his was. This, of course, makes him sad. However, he can't think about the subject for long, because Hammer Hill is a beautiful place that will always hold a special place in his heart.