One Note Samba
Frank Sinatra Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

This is just a little samba
built upon a single note
Other notes are bound to follow but the root is still that note
Now this new one is the consequence
of the one we've just been through
As I'm bound to be the unavoidable consequence of you

There's so many people who can talk and talk and talk
And just say nothing or nearly nothing
I have used up all the scale I know and at the end I've come
To nothing, or nearly nothing
So I come back to my first note
as I must come back to you
I will pour into that one note
all the love I feel for you
Any one who wants the whole show do-re-mi-fa-so-la-si-do
He will find himself with no show
Better play the note you know

There's so many people who can talk and talk and talk
And just say nothing or nearly nothing
I have used up all the scale I know and at the end I've come
To nothing, I mean nothing
So I come back to my first note
as I must come back to you
I will pour into that one note
all the love I feel for you
Any one who wants the whole show do-re-mi-fa-so-la-si-do




He will find himself with no show
Better play the notes you know

Overall Meaning

In "One Note Samba," Frank Sinatra speaks to how powerful one note can be. He says that the song is 'just a little samba built upon a single note.' Although other notes are bound to follow, the root of the song is still that one note. He also suggests that this new note is a consequence of the one that he has just played, much like he is the consequence of the person he is addressing. Sinatra acknowledges that many people talk and talk, but they say nothing or nearly nothing. In contrast to this, he uses his love for the other person to pour into a single note.


Sinatra repeats that he's used up all the scales he knows and that he has come to nothing. However, he comes back to his first note, just as he must come back to the person he loves. He says he will pour all the love he feels for the person into the one note. He then suggests that anyone who wants the entire show, all seven musical notes, will find that they have nothing at all. Better to play the notes you already know. Ultimately, Sinatra suggests that one note or one thing can be significant if applied in the right way.


Line by Line Meaning

This is just a little samba
This song is but a small expression of love


built upon a single note
Its foundation is a simple but meaningful note


Other notes are bound to follow but the root is still that note
More complex expressions will follow, but this simple note remains its essence


Now this new one is the consequence
Each note that follows is the product of its predecessor


of the one we've just been through
It owes its existence to what came before it


As I'm bound to be the unavoidable consequence of you
Just as my song is a result of my love for you, my life is shaped by our connection


There's so many people who can talk and talk and talk
There are many who use many words to say very little


And just say nothing or nearly nothing
Their words lack meaning and depth


I have used up all the scale I know and at the end I've come
I have exhausted all my expressions of love


To nothing, or nearly nothing
What remains is almost insignificant


So I come back to my first note
I return to the simplest and most sincere expression of love


as I must come back to you
Just as I am bound to return to you


I will pour into that one note
I will infuse that simple expression with all my feelings of love


all the love I feel for you
It will be a potent and genuine expression of my emotions


Any one who wants the whole show do-re-mi-fa-so-la-si-do
Those seeking grand spectacles will be disappointed with this simplicity


He will find himself with no show
There is no complex performance to put on here


Better play the note you know
It is better to always rely on the most honest and true expressions of oneself




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Antonio Carlos Brasileiro De A Jobim, Newton Mendonca

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Mike


on The Lady Is A Champ

eight

She gets too hungry for dinner at eight
She can't eat late and stay up all night, because unlike society types, she has to get up in the morning.

She likes the theatre and never comes late
She cares more about seeing the play than being seen making an entrance.

She never bothers with people she'd hate
Her friends are friends, not social trophies.

Doesn't like crap games with barons or earls
While barrns and earls probably don't play craps, she associates with friends, not people to be seen with.

Won't go to Harlem in ermine and pearls
She doesn't "slum", the practice of the rich in the 30's, when the song was written, of touring poor neighborhoods dressed in rich clothes to "tut, tut" about the deplorable conditions, and congratulate each other for "caring about the poor"

Won't dish the dirt with the rest of the girls
Doesn't trade gossip for acceptance among an in-crowd


She likes the free, fresh wind in her hair
She cares more about how her hair feels than conforming with current hair fashions

Hates California, it's cold and it's damp
Since most of California is noticeably warmer and / or drier than New York, where the play the song was written for is set, this is probably a facetious excuse to like what she likes.


And she won't go to Harlem in Lincoln's or Ford's
Another reference to slumming, but facetious, since Lincolns and Fords were middle-class, not luxury brands when the lyric was written

Anonymous


on Try a Little Tenderness

Here are the correct lyrics

Try A Little Tenderness - Frank Sinatra - Lyrics

Oh she may be weary
Women do get wearied
Wearing that same old shabby dress
And when she’s weary
You try a little tenderness

You know she’s waiting
Just anticipating things she’ll may never possess
While she is without them
Try just a little bit of tenderness

It’s not just sentimental
She has her grieve and her care
And the words that soft and gentle
Makes it easier to bear
You wont regret it
Women don't forget it
Love is their whole happiness
And it’s all so easy
Try a little tenderness

Musical Interlude

And, it’s all so easy
Try a little tenderness

Daniel


on The Way You Look Tonight

I met Frank Jr. in Las Vegas, a real gentleman. RIP you both.

Giorgi Khutashvili


on Theme from New York, New York

)))

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