The earlier interpretations of this song seem mostly correct to me; I'll add only a few ideas here:
"All that he saw, all he conceived....they just could not believe", etc. most likely refers to the inability of laymen or financiers to chance on/ or interpret the concepts of visionaries like Nikola Tesla. e.g. The world is not flat after all.
"Steinmetz and Twain were the friends that remained, along with number 3"
I'm fairly certain the "number 3" refered to here is TIME magazine's volume 18, issue number 3 released on July 20, 1931 which contained an article about Tesla (and featured him on the cover) that depicted him in a favorable light.
"But they sniveled and whined and he wasn't our kind, etc."
Edison was not "crazy" per se and was easier to accept. His ideas were more easily digestible...Tesla disappears into obscurity...except in Croatia where he's one of their proudest countrymen.
"You took a shot and it did you in...Edison's Medicine" I think this is a reference to Tesla's bold and fearless attempts at sharing his inventions with the world...but falling flat by contrast with the likes of Marconi and Edison....I think it's irony they're going for here. Edison's Medicine being a hard pill to swallow for Tesla.
The earlier interpretations of this song seem mostly correct to me; I'll add only a few ideas here: "All that he saw, all he conceived....they just could not believe", etc. most likely refers to the inability of laymen or financiers to chance on/ or interpret the concepts of visionaries like Nikola Tesla. e.g. The world is not flat after all. "Steinmetz and Twain were the friends that remained, along with number 3" I'm fairly certain the "number 3" refered to here is TIME magazine's volume 18, issue number 3 released on July 20, 1931 which contained an article about Tesla (and featured him on the cover) that depicted him in a favorable light. "But they sniveled and whined and he wasn't our kind, etc." Edison was not "crazy" per se and was easier to accept. His ideas were more easily digestible...Tesla disappears into obscurity...except in Croatia where he's one of their proudest countrymen. "You took a shot and it did you in...Edison's Medicine" I think this is a reference to Tesla's bold and fearless attempts at sharing his inventions with the world...but falling flat by contrast with the likes of Marconi and Edison....I think it's irony they're going for here. Edison's Medicine being a hard pill to swallow for Tesla.