The Ballad of Mona Lisa

I get the prostitute interpretation thing, I think it really work out that way. But after reading the interview, I think there's a more personal meaning for Brendon about it, but he covers it up with the tale of the prostitute. Since everyone has got the prostitute thing down, I'll try interpreting it from the way Brendon talks about his struggling. Here's my take about it:

The "he" and "she" are the dualities of his personality, the one Brendon mentioned in the interview. So, he's saying there's only one person, and that's him. "She" is the one that "fucks everything up and destroys everything" while "he" refers to the "other side that tries to pick up the slack." When I talk about "he" and "she" in quotation marks, I'll be referring to the dualities of his personalities. So now let's take a look at the lyrics:

[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 to make themselves look pretty and to flirt and stuff, and also to cover up the ugly parts of theirs (I don't think it just means painting one's fingers; it's probably a metaphor for something else). [with a close precision] may refer to how girls are meticulous about painting their nails, which could mean that he/Brendon is trying to cover up his lack of self-confidence or his ugly sides (not that I think he has any ugly sides, but that's just my fangirlism acting up).

[He starts to notice empty bottles of gin And takes a moment to assess the sin She's paid for] Brendon starts noticing how "she" is messing up his life. He notices how fucked up it is through "his" eyes, the eyes of this side of his personality that wants to fix things. "He" assesses the situation that "she" has made.

[A lonely speaker in a conversation] Well, there's only one person here, and that's Brendon. The conversation takes place between the dualities of his personality. Probably, he's arguing with himself about how he should go about his life.

[Her words are swimming through his ears again] "She" is trying to justify to "him" about her actions. Like, Brendon is trying to justify to himself why his sins aren't really sins. Or even if he wasn't justifying himself, he is probably becoming guilty of his conscience.

[There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you've paid for] There's nothing wrong with a taste of what you have done. Probably what "she" is trying to justify.

[Say what you mean Tell me I'm right And let the sun rain down on me Give me a sign I want to believe] I haven't quite cracked this one yet, as it doesn't seem to fit as well with my theory. Actually, it still doesn't fit with the prostitution theory. At least, not as well as the other lines. It could be that Brendon can't understand himself, so he's asking someone to "tell him he's right"; to justify his actions.

[Woah, Mona Lisa, You're guaranteed to run this town] If left unchecked, "she" might run his life. "She" is Mona Lisa.

[Woah, Mona Lisa, I'd pay to see you frown] Alludes to the prostitution thing. Brendon is disguising his feelings through the story, remember? Not all of the lines have to refer to his personal feelings. The line gives more background o the prostitution story.

[He senses something, call it desperation] Desperate to fix what "she" fucked up.

[Another dollar, another day And if she had the proper words to say, She would tell him But she'd have nothing left to sell him] Again, alluding to the prostitution story.

[Mona Lisa, wear me out Pleased to please ya Mona Lisa, wear me out] The side that messes things up is wearing Brendon out because, well, everything is messed up. Yet he is pleased to please "her" because, well, who doesn't like messing thins up once in a while? It's like when you do drugs or have an addiction or whatever. It messes you up, but you still do it because it gets you high.

That's just my interpretation, and I'm open to all your opinions because even I don't fully believe my interpretation yet. I agree with the prostitution thing though. I didn't bother explaining it because everyone else is explaining it, and I was more interested with how Brendon said this was related to his inner struggles. All in all, it's a wonderful kick-off for the new album. Hope Ryan and Jon are back though. :/