WB: No one will ever come close to “Chain Lightning.” No one will ever touch “Chain Lightning.”DF: Even the clue wouldn’t have helped. I’ll tell you what the clue was. In the guitar break just before the second verse I was going to say “40 years later,” but we decided it wasn’t a good musical idea.
And then, several years later, Mr. Fagen finally admitted that "Chain Lightning" in their minds described a 'visit by two guys to a fascist rally.' Given Fagen's supposed fascination with Hitler, it came as no surprise, and they had talked flippantly several times about composing a song about his beer-hall putsch in Munich in November of 1923.
So as you listen to the picture unfold, you can see the two characters exulting in a huge turnout at a rally ("a hundred grand"), trying to keep their cool as they approach their hero, and in their blind zeal admonishing each other not to "bother to understand" or to "question the little man," who could certainly be Hitler or any of a number of short famous fascists. "Be part of the brotherhood" could refer to Hitler's Aryan Brotherhood. After the guitar break, the pair have returned to the site of their erstwhile glory, to stand "just where he stood," in a later era when fascists are no longer in their heyday. This time they have to be careful not to draw attention to themselves. What's even better about these lyrics, despite the hints that Messrs. Fagen and Becker eventually gave, is their timelessness and the associations listeners derive. They take a sharp dig at any political movement which strives to turn its followers into sheep.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 3 November 2020 21:55 (three years ago) link