"Hey Stephen" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her second studio album, Fearless (2008). She was inspired to write the song by her harbored feelings for Stephen Barker Lilies of country music duo Love and Theft, who had toured with her. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, the track is a country pop and teen pop song featuring a subdued Hammond organ in the instrumental, with lyrics about an unrequited love.

Music critics praised "Hey Stephen" for its catchy melody and Swift's songwriting, with some picking it as an album highlight. After Fearless was released, the song peaked at number 94 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2014, for surpassing 500,000 units based on sales and stream.

Swift released a re-recorded version of "Hey Stephen", subtitled "Taylor's Version", as part of her re-recorded album Fearless (Taylor's Version) in 2021. "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" entered the top 100 on singles charts of Australia and Canada, and peaked at number 28 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

Background and release

External video
Taylor Swift commenting on "Hey Stephen", Fearless (Big Machine Radio Release Special), 2018

Taylor Swift released her second studio album, Fearless, on November 11, 2008, through Big Machine Records.[1] Swift wrote or co-wrote all tracks and co-produced the album with Nathan Chapman.[2][3] Fearless is primarily about the challenges of love from a teenage girl's perspectives, with prominent high school and fairy tale imagery.[4][5] Swift wrote and recorded "Hey Stephen" for Fearless in 2008, when she was 18 years old.[6] In the album liner notes, she included the hidden message for the song as "Love and Theft", referencing a country music duo who had toured with Swift.[7] Swift said the song's inspiration was Love and Theft member Stephen Barker Liles: "It's someone who I've always been friends with and always kind of had a thing for... and he doesn't know. It's always fun for me to put something on the album that is personal. Something I know I'm going to have to deal with when the record comes out."[7]

Swift and Liles had had a friendly relationship. After Fearless was released, she told him about the song; Liles spoke to The Boot in 2009 about his reaction: "I was very relieved when it turned out to be a nice song, and it's actually one of the nicest things anybody's ever done for me."[8] He wrote "Try to Make It Anyway" as an answer song to Swift's "Hey Stephen"; although he had written it when they toured together, he only had time to finish recording it in 2011. The song was made available for download through the iTunes Store and streaming through YouTube in April 2011.[9]

After a dispute with Big Machine Records in 2019, when she had signed a new contract with Republic Records, Swift released her re-recorded version of Fearless, subtitled Taylor's Version, on April 9, 2021.[10] Fearless (Taylor's Version) includes the re-recorded version of "Hey Stephen", also subtitled "Taylor's Version".[11] One day before the album was released, Swift teased a snippet of "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" onto her Twitter account.[12] "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" is produced by Swift and Christopher Rowe.[13]

Music and lyrics

"Hey Stephen"

With lyrics about an unrequited love, "Hey Stephen" features a drum beat reminiscent of that on the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and a subdued Hammond organ.

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"Hey Stephen" is a playful country pop and teen pop song.[14][15] The track features a drum beat reminiscent of that on the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" (1963), and both begins and ends with Swift's humming.[16] NPR Music writer Maria Sherman commented that the drum beat evokes the sound of Motown girl group records, which she deemed "the most romantic, nostalgic sound in the world".[17]

The production incorporates an upright bass, a gut string guitar,[18] a subdued Hammond organ (B-3 model),[19] and girl group-styled ad-libs.[16][20] Rolling Stone described the track as "an upright-bass-propelled groove".[21] Before the final refrain, Swift chuckles.[22] In the re-recorded "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)", Swift's vocals became richer and less breathy, and the cymbals in the interlude are louder.[23] The finger snaps at the end of the original 2008 track were provided by country musician Martina McBride's children and their friends; they visited Swift one day when she was recording at McBride's husband John's recording studio.[21][24]

The lyrics are about an unrequited love for a seemingly out-of-reach boy named Stephen.[25][26] They incorporate imagery—such as kissing in the rain and waiting for the love interest by the window—that recurs on many of Swift's other songs.[27][28] At one point, Swift sings, "Hey Stephen, why are people always leaving? / I think you and I should stay the same," pleading the love interest to stay with her for fears of having to say goodbye.[27] In the bridge, Swift sings about the reason why Stephen should date her, "All those other girls / Well they're beautiful, but would they write a song for you?"[7] Music scholar James E. Perone commented that this part aligned Swift with the 1970s singer-songwriter tradition of mentioning their profession as a songwriter in their own songs.[29]

Live performances

"Hey Stephen" was part of the regular set list for Swift's first headlining tour, the Fearless Tour (2009–2010).[30] The song was part of the mid-show acoustic session; midway through the performance, Swift went down the aisle to greet and hug her fans.[31][32] The song was also part of Swift's set list for the Florida Strawberry Festival she headlined in February 2009.[33] On September 18, 2018, during Swift's St. Louis performance on the Reputation Stadium Tour, she performed "Hey Stephen" as a "surprise song".[34]

Critical reception

In Fearless album reviews, Rob Sheffield of Blender[35] and Chris Richards of The Washington Post picked "Hey Stephen" as a highlight. Richards called it a track that "beams its irresistible smile before permanently lodging itself in your hippocampus".[14] Jody Rosen from Rolling Stone selected the song as an example of Swift's songwriting on the album: "Her music mixes an almost impersonal professionalism — it's so rigorously crafted it sounds like it has been scientifically engineered in a hit factory — with confessions that are squirmingly intimate and true."[36] In Slant Magazine, Jonathan Keefe wrote that "Hey Stephen" was one of the album's two most charming cuts, the other being "The Best Day". Although Keefe praised the song's emotional sentiments that resonated with Swift's main audience of teenagers, he deemed it lacking in sophistication.[15]

In retrospective reviews of the song, Sheffield[16] and Nate Jones from Vulture complimented its catchy melody. Jones wrote: "Swift is in the zone as a writer, performer, and producer on this winning deep cut."[20] Hazel Cills of Pitchfork was not as complimentary, deeming the song's overt confessionalism a step too far on an already personal album.[37] Perone commented although the lyrics are "generally conventional [...], Swift's performance and her melodic writing make the song enjoyable and engaging anyway".[38] Mary Siroky in Consequence called "Hey Stephen" a catchy song, but its "repetitive melody" makes it the album's least compelling.[39] In a 2021 article for Gigwise, Kelsey Barnes noted "Hey Stephen" as a parallel to Swift's artistic evolution and personal life; her youthful innocence on the track reflected her desire to be "seen, loved, and accepted by those she's daydreaming about", a recurring theme on many of her later songs. Barnes also commented that the track offered a glimpse into Swift's life before her personal life became sensationalized in the press.[7]

Commercial performance

After Fearless was released, "Hey Stephen" entered and peaked at number 94 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated November 29, 2008.[40] In April 2014, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the song gold, denoting 500,000 units based on sales and streaming.[41] In 2021, upon the release of the re-recorded Fearless (Taylor's Version), "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" charted on singles charts in Australia (86)[42] and Canada (68),[43] and peaked at number 105 on the Billboard Global 200.[44] In the United States, "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" peaked at number one on the Bubbling Under Hot 100[45] and number 28 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.[46]

Personnel

"Hey Stephen" (2008)[47]

"Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" (2021)[48]

Charts

Certification

Certification for "Hey Stephen" (original version)

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[41]	Gold	500,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

Sources

• Perone, James E. (2017). The Words and Music of Taylor Swift. The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection. ABC-Clio. ISBN 978-1440852947.
• Spencer, Liv (2010). Taylor Swift: Every Day Is a Fairytale – The Unofficial Story. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1550229318.