DESCRIPTION:
"John the Revelator" is a traditional gospel blues song. Music critic Thomas Ward describes it as "one of the most powerful songs in all of pre-war acoustic music ... [which] has been hugely influential to blues performers".
The song's title refers to John of Patmos (or traditionally John the Apostle) in his role as the author of the Book of Revelation. This passage in The Bible focuses on the opening of seven seals and the resulting apocalyptic events. The song quotes several passages from the Bible in the tradition of American spirituals.