This is the first single by Rock band Panic at the Disco's third album, Vices & Virtues. The song was released on February 1, 2011 and marked the debut of Panic's new two-man line up after the exit of Ryan Ross and Jon Walker, leaving as the remaining duo singer/multi-instrumentalist Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith.
On MTV News, Brendon explained that the single and the album are intrinsically linked. "Basically, all of the songs, including “Mona Lisa,” kind of touch on what the album is called. It's called Vices & Virtues, and in one way or the other, numerous vices are represented in every song," said the singer. "[It's] little minor things I didn't know were vices or virtues, until we looked them up and it just made sense, because all the songs [on the album] are so all over the place," he continued. "They don't sound anything like each other, and it's like, 'How does this all tie together?' and then it kind of made sense. It was kind of lucky." It’s amazing how all the albums in the song have been woven in such a way that they form a masterpiece of an album.
Urie explained the meaning of thispower-rock ballad to Spin magazine: "On the surface it can seem like just the story of drama between a guy and a girl. But it's really about what I've been going through, an inner-struggle within myself, and fighting the dualities of my personality - the side that f--ks everything up and destroys everything and the other side that tries to pick up the slack."
The title itself, alluded from Da Vinci’s great artwork “Mona Lisa” was deemed to be Da Vinci’s self-portait and the relationship of dark and light. Basically, all Urie’s explanation makes sense.
“She paints her fingers with a close precision”
Here he talks about how "she" messes up his life playfully. When girls paint their fingers, it's usually because they want to make themselves look pretty and to flirt and stuff, and also to cover up the ugly parts of themselves.
“He starts to notice empty bottles of gin and takes a moment to assess the sin she's paid for”
He starts noticing how "she" is messing up his life. "He" assesses the situation that "she" has made. All parts of the lyrics seem like there are two people being described but there’s only “a lonely speaker in a conversation” denoting that the persona is facing some inner conflicts.
This song is so powerful and one would not mistake it as a product of a two-man band. Brendon’s strong vocals had poured perfect seasoning to this song.
