The term Various Artists is used in the record industry when numerous singers and musicians collaborate on a song or collection of songs. Most often on Last.fm, compilation album tracks appear under the name of Various Artists erroneously because the individual artist is not listed in the album's ID3 information.
Compilation albums, for example.
Sometimes, single releases may be credited to Various Artists when their profits are going to charity and, usually in high-profile cases, are sometimes known by a group name. Examples include Band Aid with their releases of Do They Know It's Christmas? and USA for Africa with We Are The World.
Various Artists is also an actual performance name for Torsten Pröfrock, who runs the German DIN label. Torsten performs also as Dynamo, Erosion, Resilent, Traktor besides some others. He's a good friend of Robert Henke and since the Fall of 2004, he is a member of Monolake.
Various Artists was also a short-lived Bristol punk band formed by brothers Jonjo and Robin Key (originally from Birmingham). Other members were also simultaneously in Art Objects who went on to become The Blue Aeroplanes, the latter the Key brothers also co-wrote some songs and were involved in. When Various Artists imploded, the Key brothers went on to form Either / Or.
Various Artists also appear on tracks from musical theater soundtracks, due to the nature of having many cast members on one song, as well as an ensemble in some cases.
Mona Lisa
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're so like the lady with the mystic smile
Is it only cause you're lonely they have blamed you
For that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile
Do you smile to tempt a lover Mona Lisa?
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there, and they die there
Or just a cold and lonely, lovely work of art.
Do you smile to tempt a lover Mona Lisa?
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there, and they die there
Are you warm, are you real Mona Lisa?
Or just a cold and lonely, lovely work of art.
Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa.
The lyrics of Various Artists' song Mona Lisa are a reflection on the famous painting of the same name by Leonardo da Vinci. The song addresses the titular subject, wondering if her famously enigmatic smile is a result of her loneliness or a means of tempting a lover. The lyrics also question whether Mona Lisa is warm and real or simply a cold and lonely work of art.
The opening line, "Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa men have named you," speaks to the way that the mysterious figure in the painting has become an icon, named and celebrated by countless admirers over the centuries. The reference to her "mystic smile" highlights the fact that, despite all of the attention she has received, Mona Lisa remains something of an enigma.
The song's questioning of Mona Lisa's emotions and motivations speaks to the power of art to communicate deep feelings and to spark our imaginations. By wondering about the inner life of Mona Lisa, we are really asking questions about ourselves and our own desires and anxieties. The beauty of the painting lies not just in its technical skill but the way it speaks to us on a profound emotional level.
Line by Line Meaning
Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa men have named you
Men have given you the name Mona Lisa.
You're so like the lady with the mystic smile
You resemble a lady with a mysterious smile.
Is it only cause you're lonely they have blamed you
Are people only blaming you because you're lonely?
For that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile
Is your unusual smile unique to you as Mona Lisa?
Do you smile to tempt a lover Mona Lisa?
Are you smiling to attract a potential lover, Mona Lisa?
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?
Or is your smile a way to disguise a broken heart?
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
Countless hopeful wishes have been brought to your attention.
They just lie there, and they die there
But sadly, they go unfulfilled and fade away.
Are you warm, are you real Mona Lisa?
Are you a genuinely warm and authentic person, Mona Lisa?
Or just a cold and lonely, lovely work of art.
Or are you merely a beautiful piece of art, devoid of warmth and companionship?
Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa.
Repeating the name Mona Lisa.
Lyrics © DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ray Evans, Jay Livingston
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Donteatacowman
I do absolutely appreciate the artistry involved (more now as you're telling me about it! I'd heard some but not all), but the idea of a woman getting a "prom photo" portrait which is then stared at and reworked by the artist for 16 years until he died... that's unsettling.
21:44: Because it's blurry, I'm a little confused. I thought that those two horizontal streaks on each side were cliffsides marking more-or-less the horizon. And I'm also confused about her shoulders not being tilted. Her left side is closer to the viewer so her shoulders form a tilt, right...? Okay, 31:31 actually is a better view of the background I think - the cliff on the left side isn't visible so the horizon line does look wrong and I see what you mean.
I'm remembering that bit from How I Met Your Mother about the captain. "Observe, the bottom half of his face is smiling. He seems happy, he seems like a nice guy. But the top half of his face WANTS TO MURDER YOU." The Mona Lisa doesn't seem angry, but no smile lines.
It took me a minute to see what you mean and see the smile when not looking at her lips, but I finally cottoned on to what you mean - like the shadows form an impression of a smile so when you're staring at her eyes, you get the gist of a smile underneath. I know you basically said this, but I'm rewording to explain it to myself I guess lol.
I will say in closing thoughts after staring at the painting a while - The shadows on her face seem a little odd. Her eye shadows form a cat-eye shape, and because of the weird shading on her temple, it almost looks like a face zoomed in and photoshopped onto a different head. You can sort of see a square outline around her features! Weird. I wonder how the soft shadows were reproduced in a studio - they look like some kind of light diffuser was used, with several different angles. I might be overthinking at this point though.
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Paul Heydarian
My favorite version of the Mona Lisa is two pigs. Mona is a pink pig and Lisa is a black & white pig. Together they're more gorgeous and intelligent than any manmade painting out there.
KarlBunker
"The Mona Lisa is an image that has become so familiar that it has been stripped of meaning." So true. Thank you for bringing some of that meaning back to life for us.
TicklyBilly
@Sean Leith your not the brightest lightbulb are you 😂
Clickbait Charlie
Which one?.
Irene Davo
@Sean Leith I think she is beautiful
Bestmann3n
@Sean Leith that's not the interesting thing about it..
Johny Lalrina
It became familiar just because it was stolen and caused a drama between two countries. Simple as that.
Clinton Carroll
I took my 8 year old son to The Lourve and while waiting in the crazy long line to see the Mona Lisa we watched your video. It made him much more interested in the painting and a better experience overall. Keep it up!
Paul Heydarian
@Eva Tokarchuk
The loo is a 'sister institution' to the Louvre, except that it is much more necessary to a healthy and happy lifestyle.