"Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile" is a song written by Johnny Cunningham and recorded by

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly i ...

. 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 AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

described the song favorably in his review, saying that " e 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 '' Billboard'' 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 Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Country Tracks charts dated for June 30, 1984.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1984 singles David Allan Coe songs Song recordings produced by Billy Sherrill 1984 songs