This audio recording from 1984 presents Arik Einstein’s rendition of a song written and composed by Naomi Shemer in 1958. The lyrics, provided below in English, paint a picturesque image of “The White City” of Tel Aviv in the morning light, the busy day, and the lively night.
White City
Out of surf and cloud
I built me a white city
Frothy, billowy,
And lovely.
On a clear morn, a window opens
And you, my girl, gaze out
Like a dove poised for her flight.
For dawn has come, and the light.
My city will venture out to commerce
Laden
to exhaustion.
Now my city is as big as the light
And you are but a grey speck of dust
That has clung
To its shawl.
Out of surf and cloud
I built me a white city
Frothy, billowy,
And lovely.
On a gentle eve, a window opens
And you, my girl, gaze out
Like a queen awaiting her champion.
For (black)night has come, and the dark.
My city is lit ‘round and ‘round
And its lights are
Your necklace of jewels.
Now my city is a big as the night,
A dim gigantic castle
Where my girl reigns
Till the morrow.