Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd - Desafinado (Verve Records 1962)

"Desafinado", a Portuguese word (usually rendered into English as "Out of Tune", or as "Off Key"), is the title of a bossa nova song composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim with lyrics (in Portuguese) by Newton Mendonça. The English language lyrics were written by Jon Hendricks and Jessie Cavanaugh. Another English lyric, more closely based on the original Portuguese lyric (but not a translation) was written by Gene Lees, and appears on some recordings as well. The version by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd (from the album Jazz Samba) was a major hit in 1962, reaching 15 and 4 on Billboard's pop and easy-listening charts, respectively; their definitive rendering also reached No 11 in the UK, Ella Fitzgerald's version ranked number 38 on the charts.

Jazz Samba is a bossa nova LP by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd, released on the Verve label on April 20, 1962. Jazz Samba was the first major bossa-nova album on the American jazz scene. It was the real start of the bossa-nova excitement in America, which peaked in the mid-1960s. Though Stan Getz was the featured star of the album, it was very strongly inspired and designed by the guitarist Charlie Byrd. They were joined by two bassists (Keter Betts and Charlie's brother, Gene (Joe) Byrd), and two drummers (Buddy Deppenschmidt and Bill Reichenbach) for the recording at All Souls Church, Unitarian in Washington, D.C. on February 13, 1962, and it was released on April 20, that year as Verve LP V6-8432.

Although it is often described as music by Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, only two of the seven tracks on the album are Jobim compositions ("Desafinado" [Slightly Out of Tune] and "Samba de Uma Nota Só" [One Note Samba]), the rest being by other Brazilian composers and by Charlie Byrd. Getz won the Grammy for Best Jazz Performance of 1963 for the track "Desafinado", and went on to make many other bossa-nova recordings, most notably with João Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto, and most famously "The Girl From Ipanema".

When I try to sing you say I'm off key
Why can't you see how much this hurts me
With your perfect beauty and your perfect pitch
You're a perfect terror
When I come around must you always put me down

If you say my singing is off key my love
You will hurt my feelings don't you see my love
I wish I had an ear like yours
A voice that would behave
But all I have is feelings and a voice gone deaf

You insist my music goes against the rules
But rules were never meant for lovesick fools
I wrote this little song for you but you don't care
Its a crooked song oh but all my love is there

The thing that you would see if you would play your part
Is even if I'm out of tune I have a gentle heart
I took your picture with my trusty rollaflex
And now all I have developed is a complex

Possibly in vain I hope you weaken oh my love
And forget these rigid rules that undermine my dream of
A life of love and music with someone who'll understand
That even though I may be out of tune
When I attempt to say how much I love you
All that matters is the message that I bring
Which is my dear one I love you