The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937-2019), Charles (1938โ2018), Aaron (b. 1941), and Cyril (b. 1948) got together to take part in the recording session of The Wild Tchoupitoulas, a Mardi Gras Indian group led by the Nevilles' uncle, George Landry ("Big Chief Jolly").
Art Neville reached out to Paul Howrilla (personal manager for Dr. John) and told him that he always wanted to do something with his brothers. Paul Howrilla created Neville Productions, Inc., serving as president and CEO with all four Neville brothers as members of the board of directors. The newly formed business covered the entire Neville family, designed to protect them from the music business abuse they had previously endured in their individual careers.
This experience led them to form the group the following year. Their debut album was released from Capitol Records in 1978.
In 1988, the group released Uptown from EMI featuring guests including Branford Marsalis, Keith Richards, and Carlos Santana. The following year saw the release of Yellow Moon from A&M Records produced by Daniel Lanois. The track "Healing Chant" from that album won best pop instrumental performance of the Grammy Awards.
In 1990, the Neville Brothers contributed "In the Still of the Night" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Blue produced by the Red Hot Organization. Also in 1990, they appeared on the bill at that year's Glastonbury Festival. This also was the year they recorded "Sons and Daughters" on their Brother's Keeper album.
Their version of "Bird on the Wire" was played over the closing credits of the 1990 film, Bird on a Wire.
Due to the health problems of Art Neville, the band kept a low profile in the late 1990s onto the early 2000s. They made a comeback in 2004, however, with the album, Walkin' In The Shadow Of Life, from Back Porch Records, their first newly recorded effort in five years.
All brothers except Charles, a Massachusetts resident, had been living in New Orleans, but following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 Cyril and Aaron moved out of the city. They had not been performing in New Orleans since Katrina hit the city, however, they finally returned to perform there at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2008, being given the closing spot which had been reserved for them for years.
Infrequently, Ivan Neville, Aaron's son (keyboards) and Ian Neville, Art's son (electric guitar), both of the band Dumpstaphunk, have played with the band in recent years.
The group formally disbanded in 2012 but reunited in 2015 for a farewell concert in New Orleans.
Charles Neville died of pancreatic cancer on April 26, 2018, at the age of 79.
Art Neville died at age 81 on July 22, 2019, after years of declining health.
Mona Lisa
The Neville Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And if your busy, I wouldn't mind taking Saturday
Right about now, if you are in your jeep, please turn up your radio
If you don't have a Jeep, and you have a little hooptie I still want
You to crank up your volume
We want all the ladies to sit back, relax, let your hair out
Wyclef presents the Neville Brothers in the house tonight
I know a girl, she ruled my world
Whatever I need, she supplied
Living in paradise
She ruled my heart, till death do we part
(Her love was like ecstasy)
At least that's how I thought it would be
(So Neville brothers what you telling me)
At least that how I thought it would be
(One question, what was her name)
Mona Lisa, you called my name
Laid it apart but I did not respond
And you ask me what I am thinking of
In the morning I'll be gone, no more loving after dawn
No longer can we share the love that was never there
When the moon has lost its light
And the stars no longer bright
And no longer can we share, the love that was never there
(Ain't no need to cry girl, its gonna be alright)
Girl don't you cry
(Girl don't you cry)
Please dry your eyes
All you ever been was faithful in my life
So I apologize
I hope the future brings us back together
At least that's how I thought it would be
(Yo, Neville brothers, what was her name)
Mona Lisa, you called my name
Laid it apart but I did not respond
And you ask me what I am thinking of
In the morning I'll be gone, no more loving after dawn
No longer we can share the love that was never there
When the moon has lost its light
And the stars no longer bright
No longer can we share, the love that was never there
Right about now if you are in dance
I want you to hold your girl real tight
We got the Neville brothers in the house tonight
Along side Wyclef, you know how we do it
I want to apologize to you
I never wrote a love song
This is my first one
The Neville Brothers's song "Mona Lisa" is a depiction of a man who once had a girlfriend who meant everything to him but he didn't appreciate her enough while they were together. Therefore, he regrets having taken her love for granted and wishes to have her back in his life. The song has a very soulful and emotional undertone, and the lyrics highlight the man's regrets for not reciprocating the love he received from his girlfriend, Mona Lisa. He seeks to apologize for his mistakes in the relationship and hopes to revive it. The lyrics are structured in a way that the man reminisces about the good times he had with Mona Lisa and also, speaks about how much he regrets having lost her.
The first verse of the song starts with the man, asking Mona Lisa out for a date. He expresses that he is willing to be with her, even if it's not on the day of his choice. He further states that he wants to dedicate this song to all the ladies who listen to it. The chorus follows, which highlights the man's regrets and how he did not attend to Mona Lisa's feelings when they were in a relationship. The second verse takes up the same feelings and expresses remorse for having misinterpreted Mona Lisa's love for him. The chorus is then repeated, and the song ends with Mona Lisa's name being sung out loud one last time.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo Mona Lisa, could I get a date on Friday
I would like to ask you out on a date for Friday
And if your busy, I wouldn't mind taking Saturday
If Friday is not good for you, I am open to taking you out on Saturday
Right about now, if you are in your jeep, please turn up your radio
If you are currently driving your Jeep, please turn up your radio to listen to our song
If you don't have a Jeep, and you have a little hooptie I still want
Even if you don't have a Jeep and are driving a less fancy car, I still want you to turn up the music
You to crank up your volume
So turn the volume up on your speakers
We want all the ladies to sit back, relax, let your hair out
We want all the women listening to our song to relax, let their hair down and enjoy the music
Wyclef presents the Neville Brothers in the house tonight
Wyclef Jean is introducing the Neville Brothers who are performing this song
I know a girl, she ruled my world
I used to know a girl who was everything to me
Whatever I need, she supplied
Whatever I needed or wanted, she was always there to provide it for me
Living in paradise
Life with her was like living in paradise
She ruled my heart, till death do we part
She had complete control over my heart and I thought we would be together forever
(Her love was like ecstasy)
Her love made me feel extremely happy and excited
At least that's how I thought it would be
However, things did not turn out the way I expected
(So Neville brothers what you telling me)
The Neville Brothers are asking me what I am talking about
(One question, what was her name)
One question the Neville Brothers have is what was the name of the girl I am talking about
Mona Lisa, you called my name
The girl I am referring to is named Mona Lisa
Laid it apart but I did not respond
She tried to reach out to me, but I did not respond
And you ask me what I am thinking of
She asked me what I am thinking about
In the morning I'll be gone, no more loving after dawn
I will be leaving in the morning and we will not have anymore love or affection after sunrise
No longer can we share the love that was never there
We were never truly in love and cannot share it anymore
When the moon has lost its light
Even when it's dark and the moon is not shining
And the stars no longer bright
And the stars are no longer sparkling
(Ain't no need to cry girl, its gonna be alright)
The Neville Brothers are telling her not to cry, everything will be okay
Girl don't you cry
Once again, the Neville Brothers are telling her not to cry
(Girl don't you cry)
They repeat the previous line
Please dry your eyes
They are asking her to dry her tears
All you ever been was faithful in my life
She had always been loyal and devoted in my life
So I apologize
I am expressing my regret and apologizing to her
I hope the future brings us back together
I hope in the future we can be together again
At least that's how I thought it would be
Once again, I admit that my expectations were not met
(Yo, Neville brothers, what was her name)
They ask me again what was the name of the girl I am referring to
Right about now if you are in dance
If you are currently dancing or moving your body to our music
I want you to hold your girl real tight
I want you to hold your partner tightly and feel the love between you
We got the Neville brothers in the house tonight
The Neville Brothers are performing live tonight
Along side Wyclef, you know how we do it
They are performing with Wyclef Jean
I want to apologize to you
They apologize again for the situation
I never wrote a love song
I admit that this is my first time writing a love song
Lyrics ยฉ Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Ray Evans, Jay Livingston
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kellz
Yo Mona Lisa, could I get a date on Friday
And if your busy, I wouldn't mind taking Saturday
Right about now, if you are in your jeep, please turn up your radio
If you don't have a Jeep, and you have a little hooptie I still want
You to crank up your volume
We want all the ladies to sit back, relax, let your hair out
Wyclef presents the Neville Brothers in the house tonight
I know a girl, she ruled my world
Whatever I need, she supplied
Living in paradise
She ruled my heart, till death do we part
(Her love was like ecstasy)
At least that's how I thought it would be
(So Neville brothers what you telling me)
At least that how I thought it would be
(One question, what was her name)
Mona Lisa, you called my name
Laid it apart but I did not respond
And you ask me what I am thinking of
In the morning I'll be gone, no more loving after dawn
No longer can we share the love that was never there
When the moon has lost its light
And the stars no longer bright
And no longer can we share, the love that was never there
(Ain't no need to cry girl, its gonna be alright)
Girl don't you cry
(Girl don't you cry)
Please dry your eyes
All you ever been was faithful in my life
So I apologize
I hope the future brings us back together
At least that's how I thought it would be
(Yo, Neville brothers, what was her name)
Mona Lisa, you called my name
Laid it apart but I did not respond
And you ask me what I am thinking of
In the morning I'll be gone, no more loving after dawn
No longer we can share the love that was never there
When the moon has lost its light
And the stars no longer bright
No longer can we share, the love that was never there
Right about now if you are in dance
I want you to hold your girl real tight
We got the Neville brothers in the house tonight
Along side Wyclef, you know how we do it
I want to apologize to you
I never wrote a love song
This is my first one
coal12tnt
This song will never die, only a small percentage of people have heard this song and that small percentage will never 4get this classic. The most deadliest song ever. 1 love
Star & Lyphe
One of my favorites since 97!!!!!
Mark Frank
This was my most played song from that cd. Lol
Tim Burr aka ELSE ONE
The Carnival is one of the most unique albums I've ever owned. From hip hop to calypso to slow jams to reggae, it's amazing. This is such a beautiful song, reminds me of me ex.
Prashant Shrestha
I listened to this album so much when it came out, I honestly didn't realize how good it was until now..
Up Jumps Da Party
A truly eclectic production
Stephen Grinkley
Much respect to the Neville brothers!!! You don't hear anything like this now
Joshua Lebeau
The carnival repeated itself in my very first cd player so many times that saturday night fever was skipping! AND IT STILL SOUNDED GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TaylorMade Kennels
it's 2021 and I am still bangin' this classic. The bass player is doin' his thing, hell the whole song needs to be rereleased...lol
Ngoba Martyns-Yellowe
This song is too cool. Highly underrated song on "the carnival" album.