Desafinado
Getz Stan Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Se você disser que eu desafino, amor
Saiba que isto em mim provoca imensa dor
Só privilegiados têm ouvido igual ao seu
Eu possuo apenas o que Deus me deu

Se você insiste em classificar
Meu comportamento anti-musical
Eu mesmo mentindo devo argumentar
Que isto é bossa nova, que isto é muito natural

O que você não sabe nem sequer pressente
É que os desafinados também têm um coração

Fotografei você na minha Rolleyflex
Revelou-se a sua enorme ingratidão
Só não poderá falar assim do meu amor
Este é o maior que você pode encontrar, viu?

Você com a sua música esqueceu o principal
Que no peito dos desafinados
No fundo do peito bate calado




No peito dos desafinados
Também bate um coração

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to "Desafinado" by Getz Stan speak to the pain caused by being judged for not having a perfect voice or ear for music. He sings, "If you say that I'm off-key, my dear, know that this causes immense pain in me. Only the privileged have an ear as good as yours. I possess only what God gave me." The singer is expressing that he cannot control his natural abilities, and to be judged by someone who has a perfect ear for music causes him a great deal of suffering.


He goes on to argue that his off-key singing is just a part of the bossa nova style, which is natural and unique. The singer claims that those who judge his music do not understand that even the off-key have hearts, and that he has a deep love that cannot be judged by his abilities. He states, "What you don't know and don't even suspect is that the off-key also have a heart."


The song ends with the singer revealing his own pain, saying that he captured the object of his affection with his camera, only to find out that she was ungrateful. He states that his love for her is greater than anything she could ever find in someone who has a perfect ear for music, and that even off-key individuals have hearts that beat strongly.


Overall, "Desafinado" speaks to the universal human emotions of pain and love, as well as the power of music to connect people despite differences in ability.


Line by Line Meaning

Se você disser que eu desafino, amor
If you say that I sing out of tune, my love, know that it causes immense pain in me


Saiba que isto em mim provoca imensa dor
Understand that this causes immense pain in me


Só privilegiados têm ouvido igual ao seu
Only the privileged have an ear like yours


Eu possuo apenas o que Deus me deu
I only possess what God has given me


Se você insiste em classificar
If you insist on classifying


Meu comportamento anti-musical
My unmusical behavior


Eu mesmo mentindo devo argumentar
Even if I have to lie, I must argue


Que isto é bossa nova, que isto é muito natural
That this is bossa nova, that this is very natural


O que você não sabe nem sequer pressente
What you don't know or even sense


É que os desafinados também têm um coração
Is that even the out of tune also have a heart


Fotografei você na minha Rolleyflex
I took a photo of you with my Rolleyflex


Revelou-se a sua enorme ingratidão
It revealed your enormous ingratitude


Só não poderá falar assim do meu amor
You cannot speak like this about my love


Este é o maior que você pode encontrar, viu?
This is the greatest you can find, you know?


Você com a sua música esqueceu o principal
You, with your music, forgot the main thing


Que no peito dos desafinados
That in the heart of the out of tune


No fundo do peito bate calado
Deep down beats silently


No peito dos desafinados
In the heart of the out of tune


Também bate um coração
A heart also beats




Lyrics © Editora e Importadora Musical Fermata do Brasil Ltda., CORCOVADO MUSIC CORPORATION, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, O/B/O CAPASSO
Written by: Newton Mendonca, Tom Jobim

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@Muzikman127

it's easier once you "get" the groove.

once you hear the dundum ch ch dundum ch ch dundum ch ch... everything else is just embellishment


it helps to hear some clips of samba grooves in isolation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D85u364oY0s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa3qtJE2wIo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN8j7KihXOE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfoWB0NEjD4



All comments from YouTube:

@Bowwow30

I'm laying on my couch now, the balcony doors are open, the sun is shining and I can smell the spring. Somewhere in my houseblock one of my neighbours is playing Desafinado by Stan Getz. A great way to spend my Sunday afternoon and get happy.

@117raph

Boudewijn Smits
Cheers man

@bingo1232

Boudewijn Smits sounds like a mini vacation -- good for the soul!

@raysonkong

Boudewijn Smits you have high quality neighbors

@mizora6356

+Boudewijn Smits that was some chill you got there

@brandonturner6879

My neighbors listen to Lil' Wayne. Time to move in with you, man. lol

12 More Replies...

@johngreen6783

What a beautiful song. I listen to this and I’m transported to a different dimension. All my cares and worries just drift away.

@antonboludo8886

Exactly!

@RaptorFromWeegee

Like stepping off a Varig 707 into the warm breezes of Rio's Galeão Airport, circa 1965

@georgeberghorn5402

Found this tune on a jukebox at Shepard AFB in Texas in '72, was hooked on Jobim and bossa nova ever since.  The best thing about this tune and other bossa tunes is that there is so much going on with the beat and at the same time it is cool and gentle. What a way to relax.

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