Out of the ruins and rubble,
Out of the smoke,
Out of our night of struggle,
Can we see a ray of hope?
One pale, thin ray
Reaching for the day
(chorus:)
We can build a beautiful city,
Yes we can,
Yes we can,
We can build a beautiful city,
Not a city of angels,
But a city of man.
We may not reach the ending,
But we can start
Slowly but surely mending,
Brick by brick,
Heart by heart
Now, maybe now,
We start building now
(chorus)
When your trust is all but shattered,
When your faith is all but killed,
You can give up, bitter and battered,
Or you can start to build
A beautiful city,
Yes we can (yes we can),
Yes we can,
We can build (we can build) a beautiful city,
Not a city of a angels,
But finally a city of man