[Instrumental Intro] [Verse 1 – Britain] Step aside, make room for the crown, British Empire, we run this town! China had the tea, the silk, the gold, But we needed silver for the goods they sold. Silver flowing east, our pockets running dry, So we pushed opium, watched the profits rise. China said NO! Tried to shut it down, Opium Wars brought the cannons around! Treaties signed, ports forced wide, Hong Kong taken, British pride! Taiping rebels tore the country apart, We backed the Ching to protect our part. Spheres of influence, we want our share, Special trading rights? We’re already there! China’s got riches, the world wants in, Pass that map, let the carving begin! [Verse 2 – France] Bonjour, Britain, don’t get too proud, France has arrived, let me speak to the crowd! Second Opium War, we joined the fight, Forced new treaties with military might. Missionaries preaching, merchants in line, Expanding our influence, one deal at a time. Indo-china’s ours, now China’s in view, Southern trade routes? We’ll take those too! Railroad concessions, mining rights, Economic power backed by military might! Germany wants some, Russia wants more, Japan’s at the table, knocking at the door. Everybody’s reaching for a piece of the prize, While China’s sovereignty gets compromised! [Hook – Britain and France] Divide it up! Divide it up! Everybody wants a piece! Ports and profits, power and trade, Tell me who gets paid! Draw the lines! Claim the prize! Watch the foreign powers rise! Spheres of influence, that’s the game, China’s borders, foreign claims! [Instrumental Interlude] [Verse 3 – USA] Hold up! Hold up! Let me through! Uncle Sam’s got a different point of view! Britain got a slice, France got a plate, Germany and Russia got a seat at the gate. Japan’s making moves, everybody’s inside, But American business won’t be denied! John Hay, Secretary of State, Eighteen ninety-nine, let me set this straight! Open Door Policy, here’s my plan, Equal trading rights for every foreign land! No more shutting us out of your zone, Every market open, no exclusive throne! Keep China’s borders, don’t break it apart, But American trade? We want our part! Call it fair access, call it free trade, But China’s not for whom this deal was made! We want opportunity, a commercial connection, But who’s protecting China’s own direction? [Instrumental Break] [Hook – Foreign Powers] Divide it up! Divide it up! Everybody wants a piece! Ports and profits, power and trade, Tell me who gets paid! Draw the lines! Claim the prize! Watch the foreign powers rise! Spheres of influence, that’s the game, China’s borders, foreign claims! [Beat Stops] [Verse 4 – China] STOP! You call it trade? You call it fair? You draw your lines like we aren’t there! Britain! France! America too! Let me tell you what your power can do! You see a market, we see our home, You claim the right to take what we own. Opium flooded through our land, Foreign soldiers made demands! Eighteen ninety-nine, hear the sound, The Boxers rose up from Chinese ground! Angry at foreigners, angry at control, A rebellion rising with a furious soul! Foreigners died, Chinese died too, In nineteen hundred, foreign armies came through. They crushed the rebellion, but not the shame, Then Hay returned with another claim! Respect our borders, preserve sovereignty, But you still want markets and foreign money! You call it an Open Door, but listen to me, An open door means nothing without sovereignty! [Instrumental Solo] [Instrumental Crescendo] [Final Hook – All Voices] Divide it up! Divide it up! Everybody wants a piece! Ports and profits, power and trade, Tell me who gets paid! Draw the lines! Claim the prize! Watch the foreign powers rise! Spheres of influence, that’s the game, China’s borders, foreign claims! [Outro – China] You divided the markets, You demanded the trade, You claimed all the profits From the deals that you made. But remember this lesson, When empires compete: The people of a nation Aren’t prizes for your greed! [Instrumental Outro]
