Mamma - On The Big Black Bus

After the vicious hurricanes of Katrina and Rita of 2005, Kelli was inspired to write a song that reflected on the overwhelming and absolute power of Mother Nature: Mamma

Click on the arrow above to listen to a live version of Mamma performed in Hollywood earlier this year.

It seemed particularly appropriate to play Mamma today as wild fires are eating up the California countryside and displacing over half a million people. It’s not until you actually see how the fire affects everything do you really get an idea of just how BIG nature is and just how ineffective we are against her.

Mornings here are shaded different hues of Pink and Red, it could be Christmas in that everything is covered with a fine white powder - only the smell reveals that it’s ash - not snow - and it could all be quite beautiful until the fire starts to come your way…

The flames are announced with billowing smoke clouds that swoop down onto the man made structures and dispose of them in seconds…

It really does look like a scene from some apocalyptic Science fiction movie - but it’s no movie, this is real and quite literally Hell for thousands and thousands of people.

There is of course a strange beauty to it. This is the sun shot at around 8:00 AM in the morning - and so long as your house hasn’t burned down - you can appreciate the effects the fire has on the atmosphere

And finally - just to get an idea of the scale - here’s a Satellite photo of the Southern California Coast. As Kelli sings:

“Hope you said your prayers now
Mamma’s on her way…………”