Doomsday's Coming (or, "ReDS Blues") - for the Superstruct online forecasting game

“Doomsday’s Coming”: The “ReDS Blues” Mystery

This is me playing a song called “Doomsday’s Coming” - although I also think of it as “ReDS Blues.” So I heard an old guy sing it on the street today. My recorder wasn’t working so I wrote the words down. It was an amazing ethnomusicological find, filled with apocalyptic references from the Bible and African myth. But it also had some cryptic words I couldn’t understand. Maybe some of you can help me decode it.

I understand the reference to a “rainbow serpent.” The Fon people believed that the “one God,” Nano-Boluku, made such a serpent. To rescue the world, the snake put his tail in his mouth and encircled the globe to protect it. But it’s too hot for him (global warming, maybe?) Red monkeys must keep feeding him iron. If they stop, he lets go and the world falls apart.

There were references to “seven jewels” and the blood-red moon from Revelations, too. But can anyone tell me what these things mean?

• “Red dot on the doorway”
• “Wait for the signal … in June”
• “Seven men and women, when you need them they’ll be found”
• “doomsday’s coming with a screaming sound”

Any information about the possible sources of these references will be much appreciated.

Superstruct Video: Mississippi Under Quarantine, 2019