Vonda Shepard (born July 7, 1963) is a rock singer. She appeared regularly … Read Full Bio ↴Vonda Shepard (born July 7, 1963) is a rock singer. She appeared regularly in the television show Ally McBeal in which she played a resident performer at the bar where the show's characters drank after work. She plays piano, guitar, and bass.

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.

He Ain't With Me
Vonda Shepard Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Calling all these other guys
I'm seeing something I didn't before
Is that a new look in your eyes
Now you don't believe that I'm asking for more

I saw you walking down the street
With another girl who looks just like me
People always say we look so happy

He took my love but he didn't take me

He ain't with me he ain't with me
He says he loves me but he don't look in my eyes
But I'll take it 'till it's all gone 'cause
He ain't with me, but at least I'm not alone

You say you laughed with your old girlfriend
You're doing nothing to encourage the end
I could be charming on long distance too
And if you want I'll make it easier for you

Communication is the key
Interrogation don't work for me
You saw that other guy smiling at me
If you were here I wouldn't act so free

He ain't with me he ain't with me
He says he loves me but he don't look in my eyes
He likes to hold my hand in public
Stranger can't you see he ain't with me
He ain't with me he ain't with me no more
He ain't with me he ain't with me

I guess fate really has my number
Every time you wander away
I reconsider all the time you said you'd stay

He ain't with me he ain't with me
He ain't with me no more
He likes to hold my hand in public
He ain't with me he ain't with me
But I'll take it 'till it's all gone 'cause

He ain't with me but at least I'm not alone
He ain't with me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Vonda Shepard's song He Ain't With Me depict a woman who is in a relationship with a man who is not truly present with her. The first verse talks about how the woman is noticing a new look in her partner's eyes and is calling out all the other guys that she's seeing. She wants more from him, but he doesn't seem to reciprocate the same feelings. The second verse describes seeing her partner with another girl who looks just like her, and despite people's claims that they look happy together, the woman knows that her partner only took her love, but not her.

The chorus repeats the phrase "He ain't with me," emphasizing the fact that the woman is not truly with her partner and is left feeling alone. She is aware that her partner says he loves her, but when he doesn't look into her eyes, she knows that it's not genuine. The third verse mentions how her partner went out with an old girlfriend and is not encouraging the end of their relationship. The woman suggests that she can be charming even from a distance and will make it easier for him. She emphasizes that communication is key, not interrogation. The bridge reinforces the idea that the woman often reconsiders her partner's claims that he will stay.

Overall, the lyrics to He Ain't With Me are about feeling alone in a relationship where one person is not fully present. The woman in the song longs for a deeper connection with her partner but is left feeling unfulfilled.

Line by Line Meaning

Calling all these other guys
You're talking to a lot of other guys

I'm seeing something I didn't before
I'm noticing something new about you

Is that a new look in your eyes
Your eyes look different than they used to

Now you don't believe that I'm asking for more
You don't think I want anything more from you

I saw you walking down the street
I saw you walking with someone else

With another girl who looks just like me
She looks very similar to me

People always say we look so happy
People often think we're happy together

He took my love but he didn't take me
He broke up with me, but I still have myself

Communication is the key
Good communication is important

Interrogation don't work for me
I don't like being interrogated

You saw that other guy smiling at me
Someone else was showing interest in me