Songwriter inspired to pen latest piece from book purchased at a yard sale

Whenever he needs a little bit of inspiration, Indigenous folk rocker Mike Bern starts sifting through his collection of books.

Bern, a member of Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, did just that and the end result is a song he wrote titled We Are The Stars, a ballad which was released as a single on Nov. 29.

Bern said he was inspired to write the song after reading a poem in a book he had purchased a few years ago. He had bought the book at a yard sale in Maine.

The book, titled Algonquin Legends, was published in the 1800s. An American journalist, Charles G. Leland, who died in 1903, had collected various stories from Indigenous narrators, relating to myths and folklore of the Wabanaki people.

The book also included poems and songs.

But it was one poem in particular that stood out to Bern.

“I was going through it and saw the poem We Are The Stars and thought that would be a really cool song if I made something into it,” he said.

The poem referenced the cycle of life and how people are part of that journey via nature.

Reading the poem also made Bern reminisce about an earlier memory.

“I just remember one of my friends who passed away,” he said. “He was a little older. We were sitting outside at the fire and he looks up and he points and said ‘One of these days we’re going to be stars’. That always stuck with me. And when I came across the book and that poem, I thought this must mean something and that I’ve got to do something with it.”

And that’s exactly what he did.

Bern, however, put his own touches on the poem while incorporating his own music.

“I didn’t want it to be just the poem by itself because it didn’t really fit,” he said. “So, I just changed it around a little bit to add my style to it.”

Bern’s end product ended up being different than what he originally thought of.

“You envision something different,” he said. “And when you’re going through the process of creating something, it always changes. So, I just go with the flow. As much as the song changes, it’s what I created. It’s creation. And you’re always changing that. It’s a lot different than how I expected it to be.”

Though he was fascinated by the poem he discovered, Bern realized he would have to change things up.

“I wanted to keep all of it,” he said. “But I had to make it fit with what I wanted to write with it. It’s like a puzzle. Some pieces won’t fit. So, you’ve got to find pieces that are going to fit to make it what you want.”

Bern, who is 48, has been a full-time musician since 2000.

This is not the first time, however, that he has found something to write about by browsing through his literary collection.

“I just go through my books every time I want to find inspiration,” he said. “Sometimes when I can’t seem to write or find any way to make my songs, I go through my books. I like history altogether. It’s nice to know where we came from. If you don’t know where you came from, you don’t know where you’re going.”

Bern’s song for now is simply a single.

“I’m working on an album though,” he said. “I’m not sure if I’m going to have this as part of the album.”

Bern is unsure when his next album will be out.

“I’m working on it,” he said. “I’m not sure of a release date because I’m still going through the planning stages of finding resources. I’m talking with another Indigenous recording producer in Fredericton. But I’m going to take my time with this one.”

Bern previously released an album titled Waponahkew in 2020. And in 2023 he released another one called Ancestors.

We Are The Stars can be heard here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FMuEw_PyJc