Fake Mona Lisa

## **FakeMona Lisa***Dedicated Side B*

**Fake Mona Lisa** is the eighth track on Dedicated Side B (2020) by Carly Rae Jepsen. It was released on May 21st 2020 through 604, School Boy and Interscope Records.

## **Lyrics**

**Verse 1**

He was born in Vegas among the stars

And on his cheek, beauty mark

Barely noticed it from the start

A constellation to stir my heart

**Pre-Chorus**

Every night, I'm wearing my black in case you're comin' round

Fifty-seven days and it still feels like I'm not comin' down

**Chorus**

The night we painted over your fake Mona Lisa

Lipstick on the corners, said her smile was teasin' ya

Oh, you took my clothes off, said, "It's gettin' hotter"

Don't know how to swim, but let's breathe underwater

**Verse 2**

I was born a dreamer, and I'm still that way

Live for tomorrow or yesterday

**Pre-Chorus**

Every night, I'm wearing my black in case you're comin' round

Fifty-seven days and it still feels like I'm not comin' down

**Chorus**

The night we painted over your fake Mona Lisa

Lipstick on the corners, said her smile was teasin' ya

Oh, you took my clothes off, said, "It's gettin' hotter"

Don't know how to swim, but let's breathe underwater

## **Song credits**

#### **Writing and production**

* **Written by:** Carly Rae Jepsen • Julia Karlsson • Anton Rundberg • Tavish Crowe
* **Produced by:** Anton Rundberg

#### **Instrumentation**

* **Keyboards:** Anton Rundberg
* **Drums:** Anton Rundberg
* **Instrumentation:** Anton Rundberg

#### **Technical credits**

* **Programming:** Anton Rundberg
* **Mixing:** Mitch McCarthy
* **Mastering:** Gene Grimaldi

#### **Additional credits**

* **Background vocals:** Julia Karlsson
* **Arrangement:** Anton Rundberg

#### **Studio info**

* **Recorded at:** Dogghouse Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)
* **Mixed at:** SOTA Studios (Arts District, Los Angeles)
* **Mastered at:** Oasis Mastering (Burbank, CA)

#### **Publishing info**

* **Published by:** Universal Music Corp • Jepsen Music Publishing (ASCAP) • JK Songs (BMI/STIM) • Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp • Dogghammer Production (BMI/STIM) • Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp • Crowe Music Publishing (SOCAN)

## **Writing and development**

Fake Mona Lisa was written during the development of Dedicated sometime between 2016 and 2019, with songwriters Tavish Crowe, Anton Rundberg, and Julia Karlsson. Jepsen explained that the song is based on a brief relationship with a man she had met in Las Vegas - she states he had a beauty mark on his face, which was later referenced in the song's lyrics. Although having romantic feelings for him, Jepsen later found out he was seeing somebody else.

According to Jepsen, the title of the song was the first thing to be conceptualised. She stated that this is the opposite of how she usually goes about songwriting, and described it as a practice she's generally against - 'the songwriter's thing of going to sessions and being like, 'here's a couple titles I have,' because it just feels a little too manufactured that way'.

Jepsen felt the idea behind the Fake Mona Lisa title was strong as it had a real-life memory attached to it; she explained, 'it's like, 'I don't know what this idea is yet, but I know we're going to dig for it.' Jepsen would later take the title idea to Sweden and work on the song during a studio session with Julia Karlsson and Anton Rundberg, the same session that Party For One was developed in. Jepsen explained, 'we just started the room with just knowing the title but nothing else yet, and got it to a bigger place.'

## **Themes and lyricism**

Jepsen states Fake Mona Lisa is an analogy to the early stages of a relationship, 'like, 'can we start something new?' It's largely unclear what the title of the song refers to exactly - likely, a 'fake Mona Lisa' being a counterfeit masterpiece, or is used to describe the act of sex as an art form, though this is mostly speculation.

As stated previously, the song is a written about a man Jepsen had met in Las Vegas and focuses around a casual relationship between the two. Throughout the song, Jepsen writes about lusting after him and, even almost two months later, is still experiencing the high of their time together, and wanting to spend another night.

Favourite Night, an unreleased Dedicated outtake, discusses a similar subject matter though it's unknown if the songs are related. Both songs additionally feature similar instrumentation and production, so it's speculated that the two songs are an exploration of the same idea.

## **Live performances**

Fake Mona Lisa was performed live for the first time during The So Nice Tour in Cleveland, Ohio on September 21st 2022 as part of a medley with Boy Problems.

## **References**

1. ↑ *Dedicated Side B* (album booklet). Carly Rae Jepsen. 604 Records, School Boy Records and Interscope Records. 2020
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Wetmore, Brendan Carly Rae Jepsen Breaks Down 'Dedicated: Side B' papermag.com. May 26th 2020.