diff --git a/lib/simplenote.rb b/lib/simplenote.rb
index 6223828..f48a54e 100644
--- a/lib/simplenote.rb
+++ b/lib/simplenote.rb
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ def get_index
   end
 
   def get_note(key)
-    out = self.class.get "/note", :query => request_hash.merge(:key => key)
+    out = self.class.get "/note", :query => request_hash.merge(:key => key), :format => :plain
     out.response.is_a?(Net::HTTPNotFound) ? nil : out
   end