Til Ungdommen

Til ungdommen (English: "For the Youth"), also known by the words of the first line Kringsatt av fiender ("Surrounded by Enemies"), is a poem from 1936 by Norwegian poet and writer Nordahl Grieg. It was set to music in 1952 by the Danish composer Otto Mortensen. The song has been recorded by various artists and has been sung at meetings held by various organizations. After the terror attacks of 22 July 2011, it was used in many memorial gatherings and services.

The poem was written in 1936 by Nordal Grieg when he was in Ny-Hellesund in Søgne, after a request by the politician Trond Hegna, for use in the Norwegian Students' Society. The poem is directly inspired by the Spanish civil war, which broke out the same summer. It was set to music by the Danish composer Otto Mortensen in 1952, some nine years after Grieg's death.

In 1988 it was recorded by Grex Vocalis. In 2000 it was orchestrated by Tormod Tvete Vik and sung by Norwegian actress and singer Herborg Kråkevik in her CD titled Kråkeviks Songbok. Kråkevik's version excludes verses 7-10.

The song has also been recorded by Danish rock musician Kim Larsen, first on his album 231045-0637 from 1979. However, on this album it was called 682 A rather than Til Ungdommen, a reference to the song's listing in the Danish folk high school songbook. Kim Larsen also included the song on his live album Kim i Cirkus (1985), and on the live CD and DVD En Lille Pose Støj on YouTube (2007), on these two occasions titling it by the first line in the Danish version of the poem, Kringsat af Fjender.

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