Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile Explained

Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile
Type:single
Artist:David Allan Coe
Album:Just Divorced
B-Side:"Someone Special"[1]
Genre:Country
Label:Columbia
Producer:Billy Sherrill
Prev Title:Ride 'em Cowboy
Prev Year:1983
Next Title:It's Great to Be Single Again
Next Year:1984

"Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile" is a song written by Johnny Cunningham and recorded by David Allan Coe. It was the first single from Coe's 1984 album Just Divorced, and was released to radio in early 1984. The song is Coe's highest-charting single, with a peak of number two on the U.S. country music charts.

Content

The song is a mid-tempo ballad about a young blonde girl, featuring allusions to the iconic Da Vinci painting.

Critical reception

Thom Jurek of Allmusic described the song favorably in his review, saying that "[t]he layered strings and organ work are slick, but they add such warmth and depth in contrast to Coe's voice that it works to devastating effect."[2]

Chart performance

The song spent twenty-two weeks on the Billboard country singles charts, reaching a peak of number two and accounting for Coe's highest peak there.[1] In Canada, it reached Number One on the RPM Country Tracks charts dated for June 30, 1984.[3]

Year-end charts

Notes and References

  1. Book: Whitburn, Joel. Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. 2008. 98. 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. Web site: [{{Allmusic|class=album|id=r92053|pure_url=yes}} ''Just Divorced'' review ]. Jurek . Thom . Allmusic . October 8, 2010.
  3. Web site: RPM Country Tracks for June 30, 1984 . RPM . October 8, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121019150433/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.6782&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=5k2habs6oq2oo3qhbu41reev74 . October 19, 2012 . dead .
  4. Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1984. Billboard. June 16, 2021.