City's philosopher and songwriter (6)

I believe the answer is:

berlin

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'songwriter' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.

(Other definitions for berlin that I've seen before include "Possibly Isaiah" , "Irving -, Russian-born musical composer" , "capital city" , "German capital" , "City once divided by wall" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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