Arja Saijonmaa

Arja Enni Helena Saijonmaa (born 1 December 1944 in Mikkeli) is a Finnish singer, political activist and occasional actress.[1] She studied at the Sibelius Academy and earned a Bachelor of Arts at the Helsinki University. She made her breakthrough as a singer in Sweden. She has made albums with Swedish translations of songs by Mikis Theodorakis, as well as covers of Zarah Leander songs. In 1978 she issued Miten voi kyllin kiittää, an album of Finnish translations of the songs of the Chilean composer and singer Violeta Parra. A Swedish version, Jag vill tacka livet, came out the following year. The title song, Jag vill tacka livet (Gracias a la vida) was one of her greatest hits. She sang this at Swedish prime minister Olof Palme’s funeral in 1986. Palme had been a close friend, and his widow wanted Arja to sing at the funeral.