Musings

When I was younger, I would often go to the library and check out records, cassette tapes, and when cds came along, I checked those out too. I would listen to any music that looked and sounded remotely interesting. My musical tastes were widely varied and somewhat eclectic. It was during that time that I developed a love for Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66.

Here’s one of my favorites. It’s One Note Samba from the album “Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66″. My dad had a plethora of Herb Alpert records that I often borrowed, so s’natural I’d gravitate to Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66.

Ella Fitzgerald did a great scat version of this, but this is the version I love most. It throws a little of Herb Alpert’s Spanish Flea in during an instrumental/scat in the middle of the song.

If you pay attention to the lyrics, you can see this is more than just about a song. It’s a story. What I take from it is the profound last line… better play the note you know. In other words, be yourself, stick to what you know. Don’t waste time and words trying to be someone other than yourself because in the end, it comes to nothing. There is much more that can be taken from the meaning of this song, but I’ll leave that to you, the reader.

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 ti do
He will find himself with no show,
Better play the note you know

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