Bishop Briggs finally unpacks a ‘messy, sexy, toxic’ past relationship in “Mona Lisa on a Mattress,” her seductive and irresistible new anthem – and the emotionally charged lead single off her forthcoming third album, ‘Tell My Therapist I’m Fine.’
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“Mona Lisa on a Mattress” – Bishop Briggs
There’s an undeniable heat roaring throughout Bishop Briggs’ latest single – a song whose weight and warmth make it is as irresistible as it is utterly intoxicating.
Romance can be ever so dreamy – or in this case, nightmarish; as the artist her sings, “Dancing, screaming secrets in the dark. Hell is knowing that you’re perfect just the way you are,” we feel her unlocking a pain that has for so long lay dormant, undisturbed and untouched – forgotten, but not gone from her heart and soul.
Dancing, screaming secrets in the dark
Hell is knowing that you’re perfect just the way you are
Is it crazy how we’d go and do it all again
Knowing we were done before we ever had a chance?
Cigarettes and colors in the sky
Little non-committal in the middle of July
‘Cause I was dating someone who just didn’t understand
It’s like you knew me before I walked in
I want you to knock my lights out
Kiss me so hard ’til we pass out
Bite on your lip, blood in my mouth
Just want to feel something like right now, right now
Released August 16th, “Mona Lisa on a Mattress” is a seductive, searing anthem of passion, desire, and toxicity: Of being caught up in the rush of what we think is love, only to realize later on that it’s something much shallower, less meaningful, and far less special. The dramatic, impassioned lead single off her forthcoming third album Tell My Therapist I’m Fine (out October 18, 2024 via Virgin Records) sees Bishop Briggs – the moniker for Los Angeles-based Sarah Grace McLaughlin – unveiling her innermost self in an act that itself feels deeply therapeutic – so much more meaningful for her than we, her audience, can ever possibly imagine. Intimate, candid lyrics find the artist carefully piecing apart and reexamining an old, once-upon-a-time flame – and realizing, in the process, that this relationship hurt her in more ways than she knew at the time:
Didn’t wanna see what was undеrneath
All of the warning signs, my heart was blind
Katе would always say I should run away
But I made up my mind
Her energy level hits a provocative high in an emotionally charged chorus lunging toward instant gratification – oh, to be young and dumb and prioritize short-term gains despite their long-term losses. We’ve all been there, and we all feel the intensity of Briggs’ words as she lets loose a flood of visceral feeling:
I want you to knock my lights out
Kiss me so hard ’til we pass out
Bite on your lip, blood in my mouth
Just want to feel something like right now, right now
“‘Mona Lisa on a Mattress’ is about a messy, sexy, toxic relationship I fell hopelessly into. I wrote it with one of my close friends, Jack LaFrantz, who helped me laugh my way through this chapter of girlhood I hadn’t quite unpacked,” Briggs tells Atwood Magazine.
“It’s about the difficult realization that perhaps someone only likes the glittery parts of you. It’s the parts of yourself that you yourself can feel quite fond of too. The good can feel so good but it’s only because the bad feels so bad. I found myself in this relationship many moons ago and have never looked back until writing this song.”
We feel the turmoil in Briggs raging; it pours out of her in spades as she channels that heavy tension into her art.
You say I’m pretty like an actress
You’re Mona Lisa on a mattress
Want you light up a million matches
Burn out my heart until it’s ashes, ashes
Funny how, when closed doors open, we tend to find something new – something we hadn’t seen before. “Mona Lisa on a Mattress” certainly isn’t intended as a rallying cry for therapy – it’s much better used as an anthem for feverish, sweaty, unapologetic intimacy – and yet, when we step back and really listen to Bishop Briggs’ lyrics, we can’t help but appreciate the importance of self-reflection, of cognitive behavioral therapy, and of talking through your problems – be it with a licensed professional, or even just a friend.
I lost all my innocence,
learning how to love again
We were done before we started
Didn’t wanna be just friends,
I just wanted love again
I want you to knock my lights out
Kiss me so hard ’til we pass out
Bite on your lip, your blood in my mouth
Just want to feel something like right now, right now
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:: stream/purchase Mona Lisa on a Mattress here ::
:: pre-order Tell My Therapist I’m Fine here ::
:: connect with Bishop Briggs here ::
“Mona Lisa on a Mattress” – Bishop Briggs
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© Nick Walker
© Nick Walker
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