| "Hey Stephen" | |
|---|---|
| Song byTaylor Swift | |
| from the albumFearless | |
| Released | November 11, 2008 (2008-11-11) |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:14 |
| Label | Big Machine |
| Songwriter(s) | Taylor Swift |
| Producer(s) |
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| "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" | |
|---|---|
| Song byTaylor Swift | |
| from the albumFearless (Taylor's Version) | |
| Released | April 9, 2021 (2021-4-9) |
| Studio |
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| Length | 4:14 |
| Label | Republic |
| Songwriter(s) | Taylor Swift |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Lyric video | |
| "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" onYouTube | |
"Hey Stephen" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriterTaylor Swift for her second studio album,Fearless (2008). It is acountry pop,folk-pop, andteen pop song about anunrequited love, inspired by a real-life infatuation. Produced by Swift andNathan Chapman, "Hey Stephen" features drums inspired bygirl-group records, anupright bass that propels itsgroove, and a subduedHammond B-3 organ. In reviews ofFearless, critics who picked "Hey Stephen" as an album highlight praised its catchy melody and earnest lyrics about adolescent feelings. The song peaked at number 94 on the USBillboard Hot 100 and wascertified gold by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Swift included "Hey Stephen" in the set list of her first headlining tour, theFearless Tour (2009–2010). Following the 2019dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded the song as "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" for her re-recorded albumFearless (Taylor's Version) (2021). "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" charted in Australia and Canada. In retrospective rankings, some reviewers remained positive but others regarded the track as generic.
Taylor Swift wrote songs for her second studio album,Fearless, while touring as an opening act for othercountry musicians to promote her first albumTaylor Swift during 2007–2008, when she was 17–18 years old.[1][2] Continuing the romantic themes of her first album, Swift wrote songs about love and personal experiences from the perspective of a teenage girl to ensure her fans could relate toFearless. To this extent, Swift said that nearly every album track had a "face" that she associated with it.[3] The end product is a collection of songs about the challenges of love with prominent high-school and fairy-tale lyrical imagery.[4] Swift and the producerNathan Chapman recorded over 50 songs forFearless, and "Hey Stephen" was one of the 13 tracks that made the final cut.[5][6] They produced the track, and Justin Niebankmixed it atBlackbird Studio inNashville.[7] In the albumliner notes, the secret message for the song is "Love and Theft", referencing the duoLove and Theft that opened shows for her in 2008.[8][a]
When asked byRolling Stone's Austin Scaggs if Stephen was a real person, Swift replied, "I have no issue with naming names. My personal goal is for my songs to be so detailed that the guy the song is written about knows it's about him."[10] The song's inspiration was Love and Theft's member Stephen Barker Liles, with whom she had had a friendly relationship.[11] AfterFearless was released, Swift texted him about the song.[12] She recalled it was "fun" to put a personal confession on the album, which she was "going to have to deal with",[13] and it was "interesting" to know what Liles had to say about it.[11] Liles spoke toThe Boot (2009): "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."[14] He wrote "Try to Make It Anyway" as ananswer song to Swift when they were touring together and released it fordownload andstreaming in 2011.[15]
"Hey Stephen" was released as an album cut onFearless, on November 11, 2008, byBig Machine Records.[16] It entered and peaked at number 94 on the USBillboard Hot 100 chart dated November 29, 2008.[17] TheRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA)certified the song gold, denoting 500,000 units based on sales and streaming.[18] Swift performed the track live at her Australian concert debut atthe Tivoli in Brisbane on March 5, 2009.[19] "Hey Stephen" was part of the mid-show acoustic session on Swift's first headlining tour, theFearless Tour (2009–2010).[20] Midway through the performance, Swift would go down the aisle to greet and hug her fans.[21][22] She occasionally performed "Hey Stephen" on her later tours. She sang the track at the September 18, 2018,St. Louis show of theReputation Stadium Tour.[23] Onthe Eras Tour, she performed "Hey Stephen" at the May 14, 2023, show inPhiladelphia, and the May 11, 2024, show inParis.[24]
After signing a new contract withRepublic Records, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[25] The decision followed apublic 2019 dispute between Swift and the talent managerScooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including themasters of Swift's albums which the label had released.[26][27] By re-recording the albums, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to control the licensing of her songs forcommercial use and therefore substituted the Big Machine–owned masters.[28] Swift andChristopher Rowe produced the re-recorded track, which was recorded by David Payne at Black Bird and Prime Recording Studios in Nashville. Rowe recorded Swift's lead vocals at her home studio in London, andSerban Ghenea mixed the track at MixStar Studios inVirginia Beach, Virginia.[29]
The re-recording of "Hey Stephen", subtitled "Taylor's Version", was released as part ofFearless's re-recording,Fearless (Taylor's Version).[30] Swift released a snippet of "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" on herTwitter account on April 8, 2021,[31] one day before Republic Records releasedFearless (Taylor's Version).[32] "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" charted in Australia (86)[33] and Canada (68).[34] It peaked at number 105 on theBillboard Global 200.[35] In the United States, "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" peaked at number one onBubbling Under Hot 100[36] and number 28 onBillboard'sHot Country Songs chart.[37]
"Hey Stephen" is acountry pop,[38]folk-pop,[39] andteen pop song.[40] It features a production that critics described as "smooth" and "playful".[b] Instruments on the song include agut string guitar,[42] anupright bass that propels itsgroove,[6] and a subduedHammond B-3.[43] The track incorporates a drum beat thatRob Sheffield ofRolling Stone found reminiscent ofthe Ronettes' "Be My Baby" (1963),[44] and Maria Sherman ofNPR Music said it evoked classicMotown girl-group records.[45] Swift usesad-libs[46] and chuckles before the finalrefrain.[47] The track both starts and ends with Swift humming.[44] In the original 2008 song, the finger snaps are credited toMartina McBride's children and their friends, who visited Swift one day when she was at the recording studio of McBride's husband, John.[6][48] The re-recorded "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" features the same arrangement, which led toThe New York Times' Joe Coscarelli commenting it sounded "moreremastered than rerecorded".[49] Michael A. Lee, a professor in commercial music, identified some minor changes: Swift's voice is richer and less breathy, and thecymbals in thebreak are louder.[50]
The lyrics are about anunrequited love for a seemingly out-of-reach boy.[51][52] The title character is a boy in whom "all the girls" are interested, and although they toss stones at his window to get his attention, Swift's character tells Stephen that she is the only one "waiting there even when it's cold".[53] She confesses to him that she wants to kiss him because of his angelic looks and lists several reasons why he should date her.[39] In thebridge, Swift's character mentions the reason why Stephen should choose her over other girls: "All those other girls, well they're beautiful, but would they write a song for you?"[13]Ken Tucker found this lyric to showcase Swift's "confident sense of humor",[54] and themusicologist James E. Perone commented that it aligned Swift with the 1970s singer-songwriter tradition of mentioning their songwriting profession in their own works.[55]
"Hey Stephen" incorporates some lyrical motifs that recur in many of Swift's other songs, such as rain ("Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain so")[c] and waiting for somebody by the window.[d] At one point, Swift sings, "Hey Stephen, why are people always leaving/ I think you and I should stay the same." The biographer Liv Spencer attributed this lyric to the impact of Swift's touring that "sometimes means too many goodbyes".[8] In a 2021 article forGigwise, Kelsey Barnes said "Hey Stephen" was an example of Swift's early songwriting: the track reflected her desire to be "seen, understood, and loved by others", a recurring theme on many of her later songs. For Barnes, it offered a glimpse into Swift's personal life before it became sensationalized in the press.[13]Annie Zaleski thought that although the lyrics portrayed longing, the song turned out "rather sanguine" thanks to the "swirling" Hammond organ and Swift's "conspiratorial" vocals.[39]
In album reviews ofFearless, many critics picked "Hey Stephen" as a highlight.[e] They positively remarked how "Hey Stephen" portrays universal teenage feelings towards love and infatuation[f]—Craig S. Semon of theTelegram & Gazette said, "Swift's loose and playful confession is enough to make anybody blush."[60] Others praised Swift's songwriting for creating what they deemed a catchy melody.[g] Larry Rodgers inThe Arizona Republic wrote the track was "hummable pop"[41] and Chris Richards inThe Washington Post praised its "irresistible smile" that could "permanently [lodge] itself in yourhippocampus".[38]Jody Rosen in a review forRolling Stone selected the song as an example of Swift's songwriting that highlighted her "peculiar charm" onFearless: "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."[64] InSlant Magazine, Jonathan Keefe picked "Hey Stephen" as one of the album's most charming cuts and praised the emotional sentiments that resonated with Swift's main audience of teenagers, but he felt it lacked the sophistication that others credited her with.[40]
In retrospective reviews of the song, Sheffield[44] and Nate Jones fromVulture complimented its catchy melody. Jones wrote: "Swift is in the zone as a writer, performer, and producer on this winning deep cut."[46] Jon Bream of theStar Tribune described "Hey Stephen" as "perfect high school pop" and picked it as a highlight onFearless.[65] Reviewing the re-recorded "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)",Exclaim!'s Heather Taylor-Singh said it retained the original's earnest emotion[66] andThe Line of Best Fit's Ross Horton wrote it remained "superb" as it was before.[67] Some others were not as complimentary. Hazel Cills ofPitchfork said the track's "extreme specificity", which felt like "a copy of Swift’s yearbook we're somehow privy to", was too much for an already personal album.[68] Mary Siroky inConsequence called "Hey Stephen" a catchy song but wrote its "repetitive melody" and "cliched" lyrical motifs make it the album's least compelling.[69] For Perone, although the lyrics are conventional and generic, "Swift's performance and her melodic writing make the song enjoyable and engaging anyway".[53]
"Hey Stephen" (2008)[7]
"Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" (2021)[29]
"Hey Stephen"[edit]
| "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)"[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[18] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
