"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 Liles 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 Hot Country Songs chart. Background and release Taylor Swift released her second studio album, Fearless, on November 11, 2008, through Big Machine Records. Swift wrote or co-wrote all tracks and co-produced the album with Nathan Chapman. Fearless is primarily about the challenges of love from a teenage girl's perspectives, with prominent high school and fairy tale imagery. Swift wrote and recorded "Hey Stephen" for Fearless in 2008, when she was 18 years old. 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. 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." 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." He wrote "Try to