Sadistic soldiers of the rising sun
1937's when the rape had begun
The ancient city fell under imperial rule
By an engine of war and lust, savage and cruelAssembly line efficiency of killing machines
Unbridled fury of the sick and obscene
Systematic sexual degradation
The more perverse the greater exaltationNowhere to hide, nowhere to run
They turned the waters of the Yangtze red with blood
Cast aside and brutalized
Terrific horror made to terrorizeBestial and violent, six weeks of suffering
So black was the day they marched through the gates
Their fate was beckoningTanks ran over men nailed to boards
Decapitations with an officer's sword
Gang rape of women, both the young and the old
Frozen to death in waters ice coldDisembowelment, some are buried alive
Suicide's preferred for those who survive
The stench of corpses everywhere in the streets
Dogs feast on the rotting meatNowhere to hide, nowhere to run
They turned the waters of the Yangtze red with blood
Cast aside and brutalized
Terrific horror made to terrorizeBestial and violent, six weeks of suffering
So black was the day they marched through the gates
Their fate was beckoning
It was the rape of NankingThousands forced into prostitution
So many years and still no restitution
The carnage of Carthage so easily outdone
Add all the blood you get 1200 tonsMassacre removed from history books
No mention of men hung from iron hooks
All counter to the rules of war
They made a city an army's whoreNowhere to hide, nowhere to run
They turned the waters of the Yangtze red with blood
Cast aside and brutalized
Terrific horror made to terrorizeBestial and violent, six weeks of suffering
So black was the day, they marched through the gates
Their fate was beckoning
It was the rape of Nanking
Songwriters
HOLT, GARY/HOLT, GARYPublished by
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.