Vonda Shepard was born in New York but her family relocated to California when she was fairly young. She played piano from an early age. Her father is Richmond Shepard, a mime and improv actor. Vonda has three sisters: Rosetta, Luana, and Brianna. Her mother left the family when Vonda was ten, and her father raised the four girls by himself.
After performing as a backing singer for many years she was eventually given her own recording contract. Shepard's first chart appearance was in 1987 when she recorded a duet with Dan Hill entitled 'Can't We Try'. She released her first self-titled album in 1989 with little fanfare. The album did yield one chart single, Don't Cry Ilene, a mid-tempo, piano-driven jazz-RnB flavored song dealing with the break-up of a relationship between a black woman and a white man, arising from adult peer pressure. The track is sung from the perspective of the woman's white female friend, who harbors a desire to have the man for herself, but keeps her distance out of respect for her friend. The song peaked at 17 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart and stayed on the charts for 12 weeks.
After her third album, Shepard was signed up to appear on Ally McBeal after being spotted by the show's creator David E Kelley. While on the show she recorded two full soundtrack albums and was featured on two other Ally McBeal compilations. The songs Shepard recorded for Ally McBeal soundtrack albums were mainly covers of old songs with lyrics that paralleled what was happening in the title character's life onscreen. Since appearing in the show, Shepard has released two more studio albums and a live album.
Shepard is married to music producer Mitchell Froom and they had their first child, Jack Froom, on 15 April 2006.
By 7:30
Vonda Shepard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I went to bed feeling no pain
I was drowning baby, you're my wine
You're my thoughts, you're my silence
You're my sense of time
By 7:30 you'll fall in love with me
Do you believe in destiny?
Maybe your love's an uncrackable code
Or maybe your love is a railroad
That you ride when you are all alone
And you speed down the tracks
To what you call home
By 7:30 you'll fall in love with me
Do you believe in destiny?
I believe by 7:30
Quite unsubtle these thoughts
You send me
Or is it I who sends them unreceived?
And they fly through the air
At enormous speed
Like a boomerang flying back at me
By 7:30 you'll fall in love with me
So you believe in destiny?
I believe by 7:30
The lyrics of Vonda Shepard's song "By 7:30" seem to talk about a person who is lost and drowning in their emotions. They feel overwhelmed and possibly exhausted from trying to decipher the way they feel about someone they are in love with. The first verse seems to suggest that this person has been trying to express their love but feels like they were lost in the process. They mention going to bed feeling no pain, which could be interpreted as a numbness that comes with not having emotional clarity. The second verse suggests that the person they love may be someone who is hard to understand or may be closed off emotionally. The idea of riding a railroad alone seems like a symbol for a path forward that they are both afraid to take but cannot resist. The chorus, "By 7:30 you'll fall in love with me, do you believe in destiny?," shows a hopeful romantic that believes strongly in the power of fate to bring two people together.
The last verse of the song could suggest a sense of confusion or miscommunication between the two parties. They mention the "unsubtle thoughts" that are being sent, but question whether they are being received or not. It could be that the person they love is sending mixed signals or is not open to receiving their feelings. The song ends with the chorus again, "By 7:30 you'll fall in love with me, so you believe in destiny? I believe by 7:30." This line shows that despite the challenges they may be facing, the singer still holds onto the belief that fate will bring them together, a sentiment that is both optimistic and romantic.
Line by Line Meaning
I have been lost in this verbal rain
I've been overwhelmed by words and emotions
I went to bed feeling no pain
I'm so consumed by thoughts of you, that I feel no physical pain
I was drowning baby, you're my wine
You're my escape from suffocation and despair, my source of comfort and relief
You're my thoughts, you're my silence
You fill my mind, yet calm my soul with your presence
You're my sense of time
You're my guide and my anchor in the chaos of existence
By 7:30 you'll fall in love with me
I have faith that our destiny will unite us at this particular time
Do you believe in destiny?
Are you willing to accept that we are meant to be together?
I believe by 7:30
I trust that our love will blossom at this precise moment
Maybe your love's an uncrackable code
Perhaps your emotions are hard to decipher, and your heart is guarded
Or maybe your love is a railroad
Perhaps your feelings are straightforward and lead you home
That you ride when you are all alone
You only reveal your deepest emotions when you're in solitude
And you speed down the tracks
And once you express your feelings, you do it with passion and determination
To what you call home
To the person or place that makes you feel safe and comfortable
Quite unsubtle these thoughts, you send me
Your feelings towards me are not subtle or hidden, they're obvious
Or is it I who sends them unreceived?
Maybe I'm the one who fails to recognize your love towards me
And they fly through the air
Your feelings are all around me
At enormous speed
And they're powerful and overwhelming
Like a boomerang flying back at me
And they keep coming back to me, unrelenting
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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