Mike Bern reflects on the endless cosmic cycle of life, love, family and rebirth with his shimmering new number We Are The Stars — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Songwriters can find inspiration at any place at any time. For Indigenous folk-rocker Bern, a yard sale discovery was the seed which fueled this beautiful ballad. The resident of Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick spotted the track’s titular poem in an old book entitled Algonquin Legends. “In the book it has myths and folklore of the Wabanaki people,” he says. “In the 1800s, all these songs and stories were collected. The poem We Are The Stars stood out to me, and I loved it so much I wanted to incorporate my style of music.”
The book, gathered by Philadelphia journalist and Charles G. Leland (who collected stories and history from Indigenous narrators) contains legends, folklore and myths of the Wabanaki. We Are The Stars speak to the cycle of life and how we are all part of that journey through nature. “We all come from the stars,” Bern says. “When you pass on to the other side, we have to go through a fire, as we do the same when we are born. When we look up at the stars, we see our past and future, our loved ones that passed and future generations that still haven’t been born.”
We Are The Stars has a timeless, campfire singalong quality that brings to mind the work of singer-songwriters like William Prince, Donovan Woods, John Hiatt and Bruce Cockburn. Its deliberate tempo gives it a depth and reflective quality that make you look at life’s bigger picture, gazing up to the heavens to see those who came before and have yet to come.
Speaking of those who came before: Bern learned guitar from his uncle three decades ago. But it wasn’t until a rehab counselor spotted his gift for songwriting that he set his sights on his current vocation of music.
Bern has released excellent albums including 2020’s Waponahkew and 2023’s Ancestors. Meanwhile, singles such as New World, Reverberation and Echoes (which featured the drum group Muskrat Singers) have been widely lauded while topping the Indigenous Music Countdown. He has also performed throughout Canada, including the Indigenomics Power Play Gala in Toronto and Music New Brunswick Week.
Check out We Are The Stars above, hear more from Mike Bern below, and follow him on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
