Sissel Kyrkjebø (born June 24, 1969 in Bergen, Norway), also known as just … Read Full Bio ↴Sissel Kyrkjebø (born June 24, 1969 in Bergen, Norway), also known as just Sissel, is a Norwegian singer. She is best known for singing the Olympic Hymn (Hymne Olympique) at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, for duets with Plácido Domingo, Warren G and The Chieftains, and for participation on the Titanic film soundtrack.

Also she performed during the intermission of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986 in Bergen, opening act of the winter Olympic games in 1994 at Lillehammer, voice to the Norwegian, Swedish and Danish version of “the little mermaid, Sung on the Titanic album (‘My heart will go on’ was originally written to her), Royal Variety show in London 1995, Preformed at annual Christmas concert in Vienna, 2000 Nobel peace price concert with Josh Groban singing “the prayer”, toured with The Lord of the Rings Symphony Tour in 2004 and her latest achievement is a number one on the Billboard classical charts with the christmas album “Spirit of the Season - with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir featuring Sissel”

Sissel's musical style runs the gamut from pop recordings and folk songs to classical vocals. Her work on the soundtrack to Titanic has led to comparisons with Irish singer Enya.

Sissel's combined solo record sales (not including soundtracks and other albums to which she contributed) amount to over 9 million albums sold, most of them in Norway -- a country with only 4.5 million people.

She’s released over 14 studio albums, her Christmas album from 1986 is the best selling album in Norway ever with almost one mill copies sold! She’s featured on several soundtracks and sold well over nine million albums world wide and her popularity continues to grow!

She truly is a northern star!

Here are the lyrics to her song "Ready to go home":

On this street below these walls
Where I used to walk now I can barely crawl
All this darkness rise and tall
Lord shine a light for me I’m ready to be caught

I’m ready to go home
I’m ready to receive forgiveness for my sins
I’m ready to begin

Take this river to the sea
Where the delta flows
The tide is washing over me
Guide this soul to heavens door
Show me where tomorrow lays
I’m waiting to be born

I’m ready to lay down
I’m ready now to sleep a promise I must keep
I’m ready to go home

So time I’ll lay down with these memories
Breathe the shallow deep inside of me
If time has run its course with me

I’m ready to go home
I’m ready to receive forgiveness for my sins
I’m ready to begin

When the evening shadows fall
When the time has come
I let defences fall
To surrenders to survive
I will give up everything to those I leave behind

I’m ready to go home
I’m ready to receive forgiveness for my sins
I’m ready to begin
I’m ready to lay down
I’m ready now to sleep a promise I must keep
I’m ready to go home, again

Going home again

I Ditt Smil
Sissel Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

DU
kom mot meg der jeg sto,
du var så trygg og god,
dagen ble blank og ny
midt i en fremmed by..

Du sto

et evig, kort sekund,
jeg så fra første stund:
livet er her og nå,
deg har jeg ventet på!

I ditt smil
gikk din ømhet stilt forbi,
det var poesi
i ditt smil
og du hadde alt å si
om å elske, ta og gi
men ditt smil
bar på en tvil

DU
var svaret på en drøm,
var lykken - myk og øm,
strøk som en dårlig vind
over mitt åpne sinn..

jeg vet
at alt er over nå,
du sa jeg måtte gå,
finne min egen vei
bort fra ditt smil og deg...

I ditt smil
gikk din ømhet stilt forbi,
det var poesi
i ditt smil
og du hadde alt å si
om å elske, ta og gi
men ditt smil
bar på en tvil

Her går min egen vei:
bort fra ditt smil og deg...

Overall Meaning

The song "I Ditt Smil" by Sissel is a beautiful and poignant ballad about a fleeting connection with someone who seemed to hold all the answers to the singer's deepest desires. The song begins with the singer describing how the person approached her in a strange city, and how their presence immediately made the day brighter and the surroundings seem brand new. There was an instant recognition between the two, almost as if they had been waiting for each other. The lyrics paint a picture of a deep and meaningful encounter, even though it was only for a short moment.

The chorus of the song speaks of the person's smile, which was filled with tenderness and affection, and which had an air of poetry to it. The singer acknowledges that the other person had a lot to offer in terms of love and giving, but there was also a sense of doubt or hesitation behind the smile. Despite this, the smile left a lasting impact on the singer, and is described as being filled with a mix of emotions that are difficult to put into words.

The second verse of the song talks about how the person was everything the singer had been dreaming of, and how being in their company felt like a warm and comforting breeze. However, the encounter was brief, and the person ultimately told the singer that they needed to part ways and find their own paths. The song ends with the singer acknowledging that she must now go her separate way, but that the memory of the person's smile and their brief time together will stay with her always.

Overall, "I Ditt Smil" is a beautifully written song that captures the complexity of human emotions and the fleeting nature of connections with others.

Line by Line Meaning

DU kom mot meg der jeg sto,
You came towards me where I stood,

du var så trygg og god,
you were so safe and good,

dagen ble blank og ny
the day became blank and new

midt i en fremmed by..
in the middle of a foreign city.

Du sto
You stood

et evig, kort sekund,
an eternal, short moment,

jeg så fra første stund:
I saw from the very start:

livet er her og nå,
life is here and now,

deg har jeg ventet på!
I have been waiting for you!

I ditt smil
In your smile

gikk din ømhet stilt forbi,
your tenderness passed by quietly,