By all accounts Nashville singer songwriter Becky Hobbs considers herself a religious person.

"Everything is from God' says Hobbs.

So when she was having premonitions of dying in the mid 80's, she certainly took them seriously.

"I would be almost in the dream state but I'd feel an impact and sit up in my bed and heart pounding" says Hobbs

About a year went by and nothing happened, until her birthday on January 24th 1986.

"An
energy took a hold of my arm and took me into my front yard. I stood
under a maple tree and heard a loud masculine voice say be careful this
may be your last birthday" remembers Hobbs.

That very next day Hobbs hit the road with her band and those premonitions became very real.

"Our
light was red and we looked out the left window of van and there was an
18 wheeler just barreling toward intersection and I thought my God if
this light turns green he's not going to be able to stop The 18 wheeler
slammed into us and totaled our van, spun around, trailer broke off  and
I knew then and there Ihad been warned and i felt like it was my
guardian angel" says Hobbs

An angel that kept them all safe.
Hobbs and all her band members walked away with only minor injuries.
When she arrived back home, she sat down at the keys and started
writing.

"I got back to Bashville and wrote down the title - i believe there are angles among us" says Hobbs.

Verses and a melody quickly started pouring out, but then Becky says she found herself stuck.

:I
had most the chorus and what I felt was a compelling medley but that is
all I could get. The verses wouldn't come to me" says Hobbs.

Almost ten years went by, then for no particular reason the song was brought up again.

"I
called my long time co writer Don Goodman in January of 1993 and I
played the chorus and said do you want to help me finish it and I looked
up and he had tears rolling down face" says Hobbs.

After two writing sessions - the song was complete. She already had two Alabama cuts so she thought why not try for one more.

"Within a couple weeks Randy called and asked about song and was very happy about the song" says Hobbs.

The song stayed pretty true to the original, except one part.

"His
daughter Randa was 5 years old at the time and she fell in love with
the song first and would say daddy sing this song about angels and he
started reciting lyrics before she she would go to sleep and that is why
he spoke the first few lines of the song" says Hobbs.
   
 Since it's release - "Angels Among Us" - has had an impact around the world.
Alabama even released a book of letters and stories submitted by fans.

"Not
a day goes by that I don't get a phone call email or run into something
where someone says the song touched them to this very day" says Hobbs.

Hobbs
says after the accident her premonitions stopped     Maybe her purpose
was to write that song, maybe it wasn't, but regardless she says she has
a lot of songs left in her
STORY BEHIND THE SONG: Angels Among Us