I pretty much agree with the Albert Einstein/a-bomb/regret interpretation above, and I want to add some observations:
"Einstein's down on the beach staring into the sand
Cause everything he believes in is shattered"
See how the word "shattered" follows after "sand"? It's well known that a nuclear bomb explosion generates so much heat it turns sand into glass...which can then be shattered, like one's life is shattered. Einstein is thinking about this as he's looking at the sand.
"Blooming uncontrolled": the mushroom cloud "blooms" out when an a-bomb explodes.
"All his wings are slowly sinking" The wings are his mental abilities, which have allowed him to fly above mundane life and peer into the mysteries of the universe. But they are sinking and can't carry him up high anymore because he can't get away from the consequences.
"All king's men reappear for an eggman" - Normally "eggheads" or nerdy scientists are not appreciated by the kings and generals of the world. But all the politicians were very interested in Einstein's science because it could give them the bomb, so he was highly honored. Einstein wrote a famous letter to President FDR to encourage the US to build the bomb to protect them from the Nazis. Surely the US gov't was very thankful for this. Did Einstein do it because he was "sensitive" and "wanted to be well-liked"? That may be what the song is implying. But the king's men can't put Humpty Dumpty together again...now Einstein realizes that people's approval can't give him a sense of personal worth after what he's done.
I pretty much agree with the Albert Einstein/a-bomb/regret interpretation above, and I want to add some observations:
"Einstein's down on the beach staring into the sand Cause everything he believes in is shattered"
See how the word "shattered" follows after "sand"? It's well known that a nuclear bomb explosion generates so much heat it turns sand into glass...which can then be shattered, like one's life is shattered. Einstein is thinking about this as he's looking at the sand.
"Blooming uncontrolled": the mushroom cloud "blooms" out when an a-bomb explodes.
"All his wings are slowly sinking" The wings are his mental abilities, which have allowed him to fly above mundane life and peer into the mysteries of the universe. But they are sinking and can't carry him up high anymore because he can't get away from the consequences.
"All king's men reappear for an eggman" - Normally "eggheads" or nerdy scientists are not appreciated by the kings and generals of the world. But all the politicians were very interested in Einstein's science because it could give them the bomb, so he was highly honored. Einstein wrote a famous letter to President FDR to encourage the US to build the bomb to protect them from the Nazis. Surely the US gov't was very thankful for this. Did Einstein do it because he was "sensitive" and "wanted to be well-liked"? That may be what the song is implying. But the king's men can't put Humpty Dumpty together again...now Einstein realizes that people's approval can't give him a sense of personal worth after what he's done.
Whoa. Deep.