João Gilberto – Desafinado
(João Gilberto 1980 Concert)
Desafinado is thought to be one of the first bossa nova songs. João Gilberto released “Desafinado” in 1958 as part of a collection by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Lyrics for the tune were written by Newton Mendoca. The melody was written as a joke for corny pop singer Ivon Cury, but when Joao Gilberto sang it sincerely, it turned into a Bossa Nova manifesto.
These studio sessions proved pivotal for Jobim, establishing the Brazilian composer as the originator of bossa nova style.
As we will see from the lyrics of the song it was originally a response to critics who claimed that bossa nova was a new genre for singers who can’t sing. “Desafinado” translates to “out of tune” in English.
Though discord in the composition is limited to the standard blues flat fifth, the lyrics draw a parallel between a lack of harmony in music and discord in human relationships. Mendonca’s lyrics depict a man pursuing a beautiful, perfect woman, yet all his actions and advances are construed as out-of-key. Listeners may notice subtle differences in the lyrics between recordings, as there are two sets of English lyrics to replace the original Portuguese. The first English lyrics were written by Joe Henderson. Gene Lee’s lyrics, though still not a direct translation, more closely mirror the original Portuguese. Recordings by Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra contributed to the song’s mainstream popularity.
If you tell me I sing out of tune my love
You should know that hurts me to the core my love
It’s just the very lucky few that have an ear like yours
All I have is what God gave me nothing more.
If you want to go ahead and label me
Call me what you like, say I’m not musical
How can I defend myself and make you understand
That this is bossa-nova, how it’s meant to sound
And what you still don’t get and maybe never will
Is that singing off-key doesn’t mean that you don’t have a heart
When I look at that photo that I took of you
It’s so plain to me how spoiled you really are.
Never underestimate a love like mine
It could be the best love that you’ll ever find.
Don’t let your music blind you to this simple truth
That you don’t need to sing like a songbird
No you don’t need to sing up to C-sharp
No you don’t need a voice in a million
To show you have a heart.
“Desafinado” began as a hit in Brazil before spreading to the United States. Though the popularity of Jobim’s “The Girl from Ipanema” sometimes overshadows “Desafinado,” the latter is still widely preferred among musicians when sets call for a bossa nova hit.
In 1961, “Desafinado” received a boost in popularity when “Dizzy” Gillespie performed the tune at the Monterey Jazz Festival as part of a “musical safari.”
“We’d like to play a number that we picked—that we stole—in Brazil,” Gillespie joked as introduction to his two-beat samba pulse interpretation.
Stan Getz subsequently contacted Gillespie for some of his samba music, ultimately producing the 1962 recording of “Desafinado.” This 4/4 version, featuring Charlie Byrd, skyrocketed up the charts, reaching number 15 on the Billboard Top 100.
The song was voted by the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone as the 14th greatest Brazilian song.
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