In the wake of the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in July 1937, demand for patriotic songs to boost public and military morale swelled in Japan. Newspapers regularly held competitions calling for submissions from the public of songs and song lyrics. The lyrics for Roei no Uta were chosen in such a fashion, after a contest jointly held by the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun and Osaka Mainichi Shimbun. The jury, which consisted of luminaries such as the writer Kan Kikuchi and the poet Hakushū Kitahara, awarded Kīchirō Yabūchi's Roei no Uta as the winning entry. The 28-year-old composer Yūji Koseki was chosen to set the lyrics to music.
The song became one of the most famous gunka in Japan, establishing Yūji Koseki at the forefront of Japanese composers of the era. However, after Japan surrendered in 1945, performance or loud exhortation of Roei no Uta and other gunka were prohibited by the U.S. occupation forces.
Lyrics:
１　勝ってくるぞと　勇ましく
　　誓って故郷(くに)を　出たからは
　　手柄立てずに　死なりょうか
　　進軍ラッパ　聞くたびに
　　瞼(まぶた)に浮かぶ　旗の波
２　土も草木も火と　燃える
　　果てなき曠野(こうや)　踏み分けて
　　進む日の丸　鉄兜
　　馬のたてがみ　なでながら
　　明日の命を　誰か知る
３　弾丸(たま)もタンクも　銃剣も
　　しばし露営の　草枕
　　夢に出てきた　父上に
　　死んで還れと　励まされ
　　覚めて睨(にら)むは　敵の空
４　思えば今日の　戦いに
　　朱(あけ)に染まって　にっこりと
　　笑って死んだ　戦友が
　　天皇陛下　万歳と
　　残した声が　忘らりょか
５　戦争(いくさ)する身は　かねてから
　　捨てる覚悟で　いるものを
　　鳴いてくれるな　草の虫
　　東洋平和の　ためならば
　　なんの命が　惜しかろう
katte kuru zo to isamashiku chikatte kokyō ( kuni ) o de ta kara wa tegara tate zu ni shi na ryō ka shingun rappa kiku tabi ni mabuta ( mabuta ) ni ukabu hata no nami
ni do mo kusaki mo hi to moeru hate naki arano ( kōya )　[?] fumiwake te susumu hinomaru tetsukabuto uma no tategami nade nagara ashita no inochi o dare ka shiru
san dangan ( tama ) mo tanku mo jūken mo shibashi roei no kusamakura yume ni de te ki ta chichiue ni shin de kaere to hagemasare same te 睨[?] ( ni ra ) muha teki no sora
yon omoe ba kyō no tatakai ni shu ( ake ) ni somatte nikkori to waratte shin da senyū ga tennōheika banzai to nokoshi ta koe ga 忘[?] ra ri ?ka
go sensō ( iku sa ) suru mi wa kanetekara suteru kakugo de iru mono o nai te kureru na kusa no mushi tōyō heiwa no tame nara ba nan no inochi ga oshikaro u