Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile
Encyclopedia
"Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile" is the title of 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.
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country singles charts, reaching a peak of number two and accounting for Coe's highest peak there. In Canada, it reached Number One on the RPM
Country Tracks charts dated for June 30, 1984.
Johnny Cunningham
Johnny Cunningham was a Scottish folk musician. He was a founding member of Silly Wizard, as well as a member of Relativity, The Raindogs, and Nightnoise. Throughout his career, Cunningham was also a fiddler, composer and producer. His younger brother, Phil Cunningham, is a multi-instrumentalist...
and recorded by David Allan Coe
David Allan Coe
David Allan Coe is an American outlaw country music singer who achieved popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. He has written and performed over 280 original songs throughout his career...
. 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 broken love affair, featuring allusions to the iconic Da Vinci paintingMona Lisa
Mona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...
.
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."Chart performance
The song spent twenty-two weeks on the BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
country singles charts, reaching a peak of number two and accounting for Coe's highest peak there. In Canada, it reached Number One on the RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
Country Tracks charts dated for June 30, 1984.
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 2 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |