One Note Samba: A Bossa Nova Standard
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This Is Just a Little Song, Built upon a Single Note
The One Note Samba still captures the imagination of jazz singers--and indie rock bands--today. John Pizzarelli relased "Bossa Nova" in 2004 with One Note Samba as the first track (and including more of Jobim's seminal work). The Postmarks covered the song on their 2008 album, "By-the-Numbers", again as the first track.
On this lens, you'll find cool, swinging bossa nova versions of the One Note Samba as well as some rowdier jazz covers of the song and versions of Samba Uma Nota So in the original Portuguese. I've included links to sheet music and guitar tabs for the song, as well as music videos and a place to sample some of them. Please let me know if I've missed your favorite version and I'll see if I can find it to include!
Frank Sinatra's Collaboration with Antonio Carlos Jobim
One Note Samba and More Bossa Nova Swing
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim
Amazon Price: $25.00 (as of 02/16/2012)![]()
Not only did Frank Sinatra tone his swingin' self down to suit Jobim's mellower style, but their collaboration on One Note Samba and Jobim's other Bossa Nova creations. The two work surprisingly well together, and the whole album is a joy to hear.
Lyrics, Sheet Music, and Guitar Tabs for One Note Samba

I was going to include a picture of the sheet music for One Note Samba here, but it would be too small to be usable. Instead, you can print sheet music for the original version or the Stan Getz version in a much larger (and more readable) format and get guitar tabs for both the Portuguese and English versions. The lyrics for One Note Samba are as follows:
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
Anyone who wants the whole show,
Re mi fa so la si do
He will find himself with no show,
Better play the note you know
and in Portuguese:
Eis aqui este sambinha
Feito numa nota só
Outras notas vão entrar
Mas a base é uma só
Esta outra é conseqüência
Do que acabo de dizer
Como eu sou a conseqüência
Inevitável de você
Quanta gente existe por aí
Que fala tanto e não diz nada
Ou quase nada
E voltei pra minha nota
Como eu volto pra você
Vou contar com minha nota
Como eu gosto de você
E quem quer todas as notas
Re mi fá sol lá si dó
Fica sempre sem nenhuma
Fique numa nota só
Sample Various Cover Versions of the One Note Samba
From The Postmarks to Rosemary Clooney to Ella Fitzgerald to Stereolab
Music Videos for the One Note Samba
Bossa Nova Versions from the Across the Decades
One Note Samba on iTunes
Sample and Buy Versions Here
| Track | Artist | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| One Note Samba | Antonio Carlos Jobim | The Composer of "Desafinado", Plays | |
| One Note Samba (Vocal) | Astrud Gilberto & The Stan Getz Quartet | Getz Plays Jobin: The Girl from Ipanema | |
| One Note Samba | Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 | Best of Sergio Mendes and Brasil '65 | |
| One Note Samba | Ella Fitzgerald & Joe Pass | Fitzgerald & Pass...Again | |
| One Note Samba | John Pizzarelli & Rosemary Clooney | Brazil | |
| One Note Samba (LP Version) | Herbie Mann | Do the Bossa Nova | |
| One Note Samba | Bucky and John Pizzarelli | Passion Guitars | |
| One Note Samba | The Modern Jazz Quartet | Collaboration (With Laurindo Almeida) | |
| One Note Samba (Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival) | Ella Fitzgerald & The Tommy Flanagan Trio | Montreux '77 | |
| One Note Samba | Carlos Gilberto | Latin Jazz | |
| One Note Samba | The Postmarks | By the Numbers |
Which Version of One Note Samba Is Your Favorite?
Do You Prefer Jobim's Portuguese or Ella Fitzgerald's English and Scat?
Share what you love about the One Note Samba, the people who performed the various cover versions, and anything else you might have to say about Bossa Nova in general. Do you remember when this was a big hit or did you learn about it from The Postmarks?
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Mia-Mia
Nov 25, 2011 @ 11:23 pm | delete
- I had forgotten about that song. I always liked it, though, and enjoyed hearing it again. Thank you.
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hughgrissettsr
Nov 3, 2011 @ 5:34 pm | delete
- good lens! i have the stan getz jazz samba cd and i love it!
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calistoeloi
Oct 23, 2011 @ 1:37 am | delete
- Bossa Nova is delicious food for the soul. Jobim, Gilberto, Vinicius... Love Ella, but "One Note Samba" is Jobim's only.
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TheTravelGal Sep 15, 2011 @ 2:30 am | delete
- Enjoyed your lens, was not aware that this type of music had was an actually subset of Samba. I think at this point it is all new, so I am liking all types, till I get acquainted with the style.
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Doctone
Aug 2, 2011 @ 4:32 am | delete
- Hey - glad I discovered your lenses, they rock! I included Getz/Jobim in my lens on 5 jazz albums that anyone should own.
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LeorG
Nov 2, 2010 @ 8:51 pm | delete
- Bossa Nova rocks... not literally... well, what I mean to say is that I totally jive to this... uh, I bossa nova to this.
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cbessa
Sep 23, 2010 @ 6:10 pm | delete
- Even me, not exactly a bossa nova fan, like this standard.
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JustBon-Crochet-Designs
Mar 2, 2009 @ 9:49 pm | delete
- Nice looking lens. Love discovering new styles of music to me. 5*s.
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awelldressedbullet
Feb 15, 2009 @ 6:59 am | delete
- No one scats like Ella! Interesting lens, nicely done! - Kathy
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Not-Pop
Jan 26, 2009 @ 8:00 am | in reply to Treasures-By-Brenda | delete
- I love the Muppet video! It surprises me how often I find standards performed by big stars (and puppets) on that show. Maybe that's where my love of music started, watching it as a child.
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