"Desafinado" (aPortuguese word, usually rendered into English as "Out of Tune", or as "Off Key") is a 1959bossa nova song andjazz standard composed byAntônio Carlos Jobim with lyrics (in Portuguese) byNewton Mendonça.
“Desafinado” was originally composed as a response to critics who claimed that the bossa nova genre was created for singers who cannot sing. The song has multiple English-language adaptations.Jon Hendricks, along withThe Richmond Organisation (credited under the pseudonym “Jessie Cavanaugh”), created lyrics that employ consonance to reframe the concept as a love song about lovers who have fallen “slightly out of tune.” These Hendricks lyrics were notably recorded byElla Fitzgerald on her1962 single and byPerry Como on his 1963 album,The Songs I Love.[2] A separate English adaptation, written byGene Lees and more closely aligned with the original Portuguese lyric (though not a direct translation), appears on select recordings.
The version byStan Getz andCharlie Byrd (from the albumJazz Samba) was a major hit in 1962, reaching number 15 and number 4 onBillboard′s pop and easy-listening charts, respectively; their definitive rendering also reached number 11 in the UK. In Canada the song was co-charted with the Grammy nominated version byPat Thomas where they reached No. 14.[3]
| Chart (1962) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| CanadaCHUM Chart[4] | 14 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[5] | 11 |
| USBillboardEasy Listening[6] | 4 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[7] | 15 |
The song was voted by the Brazilian edition ofRolling Stone as the 14th greatest Brazilian song.[8] The 1959João Gilberto albumChega de Saudade contained the song and was inducted into theLatin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.[9]
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