"John the Revelator" is a traditional Gospel

Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

/blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 call and response

Call and response (music)

In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...

 song. In the chorus, John of Patmos

John of Patmos

John of Patmos is the name given, in the Book of Revelation, as the author of the apocalyptic text that is traditionally cannonized in the New Testament...

, the traditional author of the Book of Revelation

Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...

, is writing "the book of the seven seals

Seven seals

The Seven Seals is a phrase in the Book of Revelation that refers to seven symbolic seals that secure the book or scroll, that John of Patmos saw in his Revelation of Jesus Christ. The opening of the seals, on the Apocalyptic document occurs in Revelation Chapters 5-8...

." At the time of the song's composition (and in modern times), John of Patmos was generally considered the same person as John the Apostle

John the Apostle

John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...

 and John the Evangelist

John the Evangelist

Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...

.

The song was recorded on April 20, 1930 in Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 by Blind Willie Johnson

Blind Willie Johnson

"Blind" Willie Johnson was an American singer and guitarist, whose music straddled the border between blues and spirituals....

 and is included in the Anthology of American Folk Music

Anthology of American Folk Music

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records , comprising eighty-four American folk, blues and country music recordings that were originally issued from 1927 to 1932.Experimental filmmaker and notable eccentric Harry Smith compiled the music...

. In this version Johnson's first wife Willie B. Harris performs the response parts of the song. The Golden Gate Quartet

The Golden Gate Quartet

The Golden Gate Quartet is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active. It is the most successful of all of the African-American gospel music groups who sang in the jubilee quartet style...

 performed and recorded the song a cappella

A cappella

A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

in the 1930s. Son House

Son House

Eddie James "Son" House, Jr. was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music...

 also recorded several a cappella versions in the 1960s.

Cover versions

The song has been covered by numerous bands and musicians, including The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live...

, Beck

Beck

Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...

, John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...

, Phil Keaggy

Phil Keaggy

Phil Keaggy is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 50 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets...

, Nick Cave

Nick Cave

Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...

, Gov't Mule

Gov't Mule

Gov't Mule is a Southern rock jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project by Warren Haynes and Allen Woody.The band released their debut album Gov't Mule in 1995...

, The Indelicates

The Indelicates

The Indelicates are a Sussex-based English indie rock band. Formed in 2005 by Julia Clark-Lowes and Simon Clayton , the band currently consists of Julia and Simon, Alastair Clayton, Ed van Beinum, Lily Rae and Laurence Owen. They have released three albums - American Demo , released on Weekender...

, Curtis Stigers

Curtis Stigers

Curtis Stigers is an American jazz vocalist, saxophonist, guitarist, and songwriter.-Early life and career:Stigers was born in Boise, Idaho, and started his music career as a teenager, playing in jazz, rock and blues groups, as well as receiving formal training in clarinet and saxophone at high...

, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, R.E.M., Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...

, Lee Roy Parnell

Lee Roy Parnell

Lee Roy Parnell is an American country music artist. Active since 1990, he has recorded eight studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...

, Frank Black

Frank Black

Black Francis is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black...

, A. A. Bondy

A. A. Bondy

A. A. Bondy is an American folk/alternative artist from Birmingham, Alabama, and the former lead singer and guitarist in the rock band Verbena, which he founded in the early 1990s...

, and many others. Similarly titled songs by Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...

, The Midnight Ghost Train, and Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...

, as well as The White Stripes

The White Stripes

The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...

' "Cannon", were inspired by the traditional gospel song. The movie Blues Brothers 2000

Blues Brothers 2000

Blues Brothers 2000 is a 1998 American musical comedy film that is a sequel to the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. Directed by John Landis, the film featured Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman, with cameos by many musicians.-Plot:...

, in which the song is covered by James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

, Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal (musician)

Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...

 and Sam Moore

Sam Moore

Samuel David Moore is an American Southern Soul and Rhythm & Blues singer who was the tenor vocalist for the soul vocal duo Sam & Dave from 1961 through 1981...

, also includes an additional verse written for the movie and performed by Joe Morton

Joe Morton

Joseph Thomas "Joe" Morton, Jr. is an American stage, television, and film actor.-Early life:Morton was born in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York. He is the son of Evelyn, a secretary, and Joseph Thomas Morton, Sr., a U.S. army intelligence officer. Because of his father's...

.
The song has also been covered by Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers

Curtis Stigers

Curtis Stigers is an American jazz vocalist, saxophonist, guitarist, and songwriter.-Early life and career:Stigers was born in Boise, Idaho, and started his music career as a teenager, playing in jazz, rock and blues groups, as well as receiving formal training in clarinet and saxophone at high...

 for the show Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California...

.

Lyrics

The lyrics below are Johnson's version of "John the Revelator" as found in the Anthology of American Folk Music. Subsequent versions feature a variety of substituted verses and different interpretations of Johnson's lyrics, all quoting passages from the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

, in the tradition of African American spirituals

Spiritual (music)

Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...

.

[call] Well who's that writin'? [response] John the Revelator

Who's that writin'? John the Revelator

Who's that writin'? John the Revelator

A book of the seven seals

[call] Tell me what's John writin'? [response] Ask the Revelator

What's John writin'? Ask the Revelator

What's John writin'? Ask the Revelator

A book of the seven seals

Well ooh ooh why me, thousands cried holy

Bound for some, Son of our God

Daughter of Zion, Judah the Lion

He redeemeth, and bought us with his blood

[Repeat verses 1 & 2]

John the Revelator, great advocator

Get's 'em on the battle of Zion

Lord, tellin' the story, risin' in glory

Cried, "Lord, don't you love some I"

[Repeat verses 1 & 2]

Well Moses to Moses, watchin' the flock

Saw the bush where they had to stop

God told Moses, "Pull off your shoes"

Out of the flock, well you I choose

[Repeat verses 1 & 2]

These are the lyrics for Son House

Son House

Eddie James "Son" House, Jr. was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music...

's 1965 recording version, which explicitly reference three theologically

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 important events: the Fall of Man, the Passion of Christ

Passion (Christianity)

The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...

, and the Resurrection

Resurrection of Jesus

The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...

. Roughly similar lyrics, with an additional verse, are used in the movie Blues Brothers 2000

Blues Brothers 2000

Blues Brothers 2000 is a 1998 American musical comedy film that is a sequel to the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. Directed by John Landis, the film featured Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman, with cameos by many musicians.-Plot:...

.

[call] Who's that writin'? [response] John the Revelator

Tell me who's that writin'? John the Revelator

Tell me who's that writin'? John the Revelator

Wrote the book of the seven seals

[call] Who's that writin'? [response] John the Revelator

Tell me who's that writin'? John the Revelator

Well who's that writin'? John the Revelator

Wrote the book of the seven seals

You know God walked down in the cool of the day

Called Adam by his name

But he refused to answer

Because he's naked and ashamed

[Repeat verses 1 & 2]

You know Christ had twelve apostles

And three he led away

He said, "Watch with me one hour,

'till I go yonder and pray."

[Repeat verses 1 & 2]

Christ came on Easter morning

Mary and Martha went down to see

He said, "Go tell my disciples

To meet me in Galilee."

[Repeat verses 1 & 2]