Behind the song “Stars Still Dying”

The summer my father died, the sky outside turned to a red dome layered by a hazy gray ash blown in from forest fires, and although so many other challenging times lurked in future timelines, in that moment it felt as though the world was ending. 

One question I pondered was “How long do you stay to honour a dream?”

Life is strange in this way. We don't enter, leave, or cycle on the same timeline as our loved ones. We are also tremendously lucky if we leave life with all of its external forces aligning so that we can obtain a personal sense of completion. I wondered how my father felt about what he was leaving behind, and if he had been able to accomplish what his heart desired. 

In the hospital a transition between us happened. We connected less and less in the physical, and we bound together within layers unseen. It is in that lush deep green garden where we combine energy, sometimes revisiting old memories and sometimes the new. When I return from this shared dream space it is as though a veil of smoke has been lifted. There is a shift in the quality of air, and it reminds me of the incense I burned for him that night by the river, while the sky grew dark, helping the stars to shine. 

“Stars Still Dying” is a love song for my father, exalting simultaneously the depth of joy shared, the potential of love, and the recognition of what loss leaves behind. 

Stars Still Dying

The first breath is arresting

We don’t all come full circle at the turn of time

This chalice has a poisoned rim 

We sink, cognizant and comfortable

Knowing that there is no win

And the man who’s a boy can protect the impregnable

Still we all lose some days 

That’s just the way

It was as far as we had dreamed 

The garden grew deep, the incense rising

Lifted as heat to stars still dying

Gone just like magic by the morning

We couldn’t pull back the glass 

So we stood watching 

Our eyes projecting the past

Lenses of love, of longing

To be aware is to tread with care

Resting in the pain you’re living

It was as far as we had dreamed 

The garden grew deep, the incense rising

Lifted as heat to stars still dying

Gone just like magic by the morning

How long do you stay, to honour a dream

to honour a dream

* these are the longform lyrics, matching the full length track on the album

Interview with Brock Jorgensen the filmmaker for “Stars Still Dying” - The Single Edit

I was lucky enough to meet Brock for the first time outside of my new apartment while in the stupor of school and new puppy life. I had brought Juno out for a pee, and Brock rolled up cool as a cucumber into the other tenant's parking spot. In an embarrassed daze I waved hi, probably with a bag of poop in my other hand… painfully self-aware that in my exhaustion nothing about me exuded “cool new friend” at that moment. But with true East Coast hospitality running through his veins, Brock was quick to be welcoming and kind, to hang for a patio beer, and to show me some of the most beautiful spots in New Brunswick. I am so lucky that he decided to take on shooting the music video for the single edit of “Stars Still Dying”. We squeezed it in a few days before I headed back to Alberta, surmounting each challenge bravely, and always focused on the end game; to tell the story at the crux of the song’s lyrics, which is both a reflection on life, and a letter of love to my father after he passed away. 

CLEA: You are a brilliant photographer, and videographer. What attracts you to working in the medium of video? 

BROCK: Honestly, I’ve always just loved telling stories visually. Creating a sense of emotion whether that be happiness or sadness, with light and music. I’m very big on natural light in my art. Using the environment around me to portray a sense of realism. It’s something I adapted a long time ago as a young filmmaker. There’s a sense of fulfillment for me, when I’m working on a project, seeing a story come to life that was once just a shot list on paper. It’s hard to explain sometimes, why you love what you do. I just love telling stories. 

I love the story of how we met, that we just happened to be neighbors for only four months, but in that short time we took a chance, and made a collaborative short film together. As an Albertan I was really excited to learn about various gorgeous shooting locations in New Brunswick first hand from an East Coaster. What was special for you about the locations where we shot? 

Being from the East Coast, there’s a wide variety of rural, hidden gems. When we discussed the look and feel of Stars, I felt New Brunswick had more than enough to offer. The majority of the locations were all from my hometown of Sussex, NB. It’s kind of funny actually, these places, the farmhouse at Brownsville, my parents house, were part of my childhood. It was very nostalgic to capture scenes that I actually took part in 20 years ago. 

We had a complete cast change right before we shot, and we were very lucky to have Mel and Bryson come on board as the last minute actors. Are there any particular moments or shots that made it into the music video that you love? 

Mel and Bryson, being a mother and son in real life, instantly gave a genuine feel to the onscreen chemistry, Bryson in particular who’d never done any sort of acting before. He understood when it was time to be happy, and he understood when it was time to calmly gaze on. It was easy to direct, in the sense that I would just ask them to hold each other.  You can feel their bond when you watch it. There were times we’d have Mel lying in bed, sick. I would look at Bryson through my monitor, and you could see the real concern in his face. I found that this connection brought that much more of an emotion to the climax of the music video when they’re walking through the field at sunset. 

I know you are a musician also, and you play with your band The Leftovers. What do you think music videos bring to a song? 

I learned a long time ago that music influences visuals in such a heavy way. It’s one thing to have a musician/band on screen, singing and playing. It’s another to have music guide a visual representation of someone's memories. I absolutely love coming up with shots that parallel the emotions of lyrics. It’s not something I get to do often. 

I felt I could tap into a different part of my creative side with this collaboration. I had to bring a story to life from scratch. It adds so much value to what the artist is trying to explain. It’s like reading a book, you make up the images of the characters and their surroundings in your head from the descriptions you are given. 

Your explanation of the “Stars Still Dying” lyrics, and its ties to your childhood, was like me reading your book, then getting to make up my own images to that story as I we went along. 

Brock Jorgensen can be reached on Instagram or by e-mail at brockjorgyatgmail.com