By John Cairns

Many people cling to unrealized dreams. If ambitions persist, then time remains to succeed.

Teresa Bernard, a Canadian born in 1927, delivers this message by word and deed. To celebrate her 80th birthday, she became an extremely experienced first-time recording artist.

Having loved to sing since childhood, Teresa, from Prince Edward Island, always longed to make an album. Mindful of the implications, she gave her CD a special title: It’s Never Too Late, Dreams Do Come True.

The 20 tracks give free reign to Teresa’s potent voice. She sings “a cappella” and sounds good doing it, just as when she used to serenade her eight children. For years, she sang during housework.

Many things stopped Teresa from recording sooner. As a teenager, she had tuberculosis and couldn’t sing for several years “because her lungs were delicate”. At age 19, she married and started raising a large family. Later her mother fell ill, needed care and moved in with Teresa and husband Dave. Then Dave suffered a stroke and died from complications. After that, Teresa felt “so devastated that she couldn’t sing for two years”.

She returned to music by writing a few songs, two of which appear on the CD: “Walking on Holy Ground” and “Rise Above Your Troubles”.

If you rise above all your troubles,
You’ll face each new day with a smile,
But carrying around excess baggage
Will weigh you down to the ground.
So rise, rise. Look at the beautiful side….
Very soon you’ll be feeling much better,
As each new day passes by.
Your life will have much more meaning,
Because you have chosen to rise.
So rise, rise. Look at the beautiful side….
From “Rise Above Your Troubles”, Teresa Bernard, 2007

The CD also has Teresa’s favorites like “Over the Rainbow”, “Heart of My Heart”, “Song For the Mira”, “White Cliffs of Dover”, “Danny Boy”, “Till We Meet Again” and “Always”.

I happened to meet Teresa at a weekend market in her home province. She’d booked a table to sell CDs. I'd gone to browse. When we spoke, this charming songstress highlighted that everyone, regardless of age, should pursue dreams and ambitions. Then she generously shared the credit for her CD with her supportive family and with David Rashed, a former rock star who recorded, mixed and mastered it.

Probably, I’ll never forget Teresa’s chosen title, It’s Never Too Late, Dreams Do Come True. She wants everyone to remember that sentiment.

ARCHIVES