What Does “Hey Stephen” Really Mean? Full Lyrical Analysis
In Hey Stephen, Taylor Swift actually uses someone’s real name, which she very, very rarely does. This track is an ode to a cute boy, who she wishes would notice her in the way she notices him.
Who is is this about, what’s the central message, and does it still hold up in the re-released version?
Here’s my full English teacher analysis of Taylor’s Hey Stephen meaning, line by line.

Hey Stephen (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift
- Title: Hey Stephen (Taylor’s Version)
- Track: 4, Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
- Written By: Taylor Swift
- Pen: Fountain or Glitter
- Secret Message: “Love and theft.”
- Lyrics via Genius
Hey Stephen Analysis: Narrative Breakdown
- Setting: Taylor’s everyday world; maybe suburban hometown.
- Characters: Narrator (Taylor), Subject (Stephen, “you”).
- Mood: Romantic, lighthearted, whimsical, a tiny bit jealous.
- Conflict: He might not feel the same way about her, and there are other girls circling him.
- Inciting Incident: “I saw a light in you.”
- Quest: See if he feels the same way about her.
- Theme: Unrequited love.
What was the Secret Message in the Hey Stephen lyrics?
The secret message was “Love and Theft,” and it’s one of the only times that Taylor has given such tangible clues to who her songs are about.
Who is Hey Stephen About?
Hey Stephen is all but confirmed to be about Stephen Barker Liles from the band Love and Theft.
Early in her career, Taylor toured with Love and Theft and formed a friendship (and a crush on) lead singer Stephen Barker Liles. He acknowledged that the song is about him and said he was flattered.
Taylor revealed in a CMT interview that Hey Stephen is “Just like a little musical wink to the guy that I thought was cute … I think that guy’s really cute,”
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Hey Stephen Lyrics Meaning: Line by Line

Right off the bat, we can tell that this unrequited love song is more lighthearted than Taylor’s others. Unlike other songs on the album where she’s had her heart broken, in the Hey Stephen lyrics, she hasn’t even begun a romance at all.
“Hey Stephen,” she begins in the first verse, “I know looks can be deceivin’ / But I know I saw a light in you.” The common proverb “looks can be deceiving” means that things aren’t always what they seem. Something that looks too good to be true probably is.
Even though she knows this might all be a facade – his pretty face and charming personality – she things that she “saw a light” in him. She thinks there’s a potential spark here between them. Does he feel the same way?
“And as we walked, we were talkin’,” she says, and “I didn’t say half the things I wanted to.” She’s holding back her feelings, out of fear or out of embarrassment. What if she pours out her heart to him, and he thinks of her as just a friend?
“Of all the girls tossing rocks at your window,” she says, “I’ll be the one waiting there even when it’s cold.” Many other girls are trying to get his attention by “throwing pebbles” (like in Love Story), but they are all only fair weather romances. She’ll be the one there for him even when he’s sad or low.
“Hey Stephen, boy, you might have me believin’ I don’t always have to be alone,” she says, hopeful that she’s found a true partner.
This loneliness – and being alone – is the central worry of the Fearless album, which she describes in other songs like Love Story, Come in With the Rain, The Other Side of the Door, and more.
Chorus: “I Can’t Help it if You Look Like an Angel”

Helplessness is a major theme of the chorus, and this is Taylor shrugging that she wasn’t looking for this, it just fell into her lap.
“’Cause I can’t help it if you look like an angel,” she says. He’s cherubic to her, both in his looks and his personality. But what did we learn in the first verse? “Looks can be deceiving.” All might not be what it seems, but right now, she doesn’t care.
“Can’t help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain,” she shrugs. She wants this, and can’t help her desires.
“Come feel this magic I’ve been feelin’ since I met you,” she says, yearning for him to reciprocate her feelings. They could be magical together, if only he would wake up and see, like in You Belong With Me.
“Can’t help it if there’s no one else,” she says, looking around and not seeing anyone as alluring as Stephen. “Mmm, I can’t help myself,” she says, longing for him to come closer and feel what she feels.
Verse 2: “Never Seen Nobody Shine the Way You Do”

“Hey Stephen, I’ve been holdin’ back this feelin’,” she says in the second verse, continuing to conceal her real feelings for him, “So I’ve got some things to say to you.”
This is a meta moment: she might not tell him in person, but this song contains everything she wants to say to him.
“I’ve seen it all, so I thought,” she says, “But I never seen nobody shine the way you do.” She’s surprised at how intense her feelings are. She thought she’d already met every type of boy, and had every type of feeling. But here’s a new one, and it’s intense.
“The way you walk, way you talk, way you say my name,” she says of his physicalities, “It’s beautiful, wonderful, don’t you ever change.” She loves everything about him, and everything about him is attractive to her.
“Hey Stephen, why are people always leavin’?” she wonders, hinting that she’s had her heart broken before, “I think you and I should stay the same.” She hopes that they’ll never lose this spark, and that he won’t break her heart.
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Bridge: “They’re Dimming the Street Lights”

The chorus repeats, then she paints a cinematic portrait of a romantic scene in the bridge.
“They’re dimming the street lights,” she says, calling back to a similar scene in Fearless. She’s in her everyday, pedestrian small town, made magical by the lights dimming over the pavement.
“You’re perfect for me,” she assures him, “Why aren’t you here tonight?” She’s alone in this romantic setting, longing for a parter to join her. But not just any partner: him.
“I’m waitin’ alone now,” she says, waiting in the street, but also metaphorically “alone”, as in single.
“So come on and come out,” she says, coaxing him out in to the open, where she can reveal her feelings and he can reciprocate.
“And pull me near,” she says of this imaginary romantic moment, where he’ll finally jump then fall into her, “And shine, shine, shine.”
‘Come make magic with me,’ she says to him, ‘because we could make Sparks Fly together.’
Verse 3: “Would They Write a Song for You?”

“Hey Stephen, I could give you fifty reasons why I should be the one you choose,” she says in the third verse. She could list all of her attractive qualities for him, but she’s got an ace up her sleeve that will finally win him over.
But this likely also nods to another iconic song that lists 50 reasons: 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, by Paul Simon. For Taylor, it’s 50 reasons for him to stick around.
“All those other girls, well, they’re beautiful,” she says, “But would they write a song for you? Haha.” She breaks the fourth wall, acknowledging that this song is her message to him. It’s not only an open letter; it’s a reason he should choose her.
Her feelings for him are so strong that she wrote an entire song dedicated to him. Who could say no to a girl like that?
Final Chorus & Outro: “Come Feel This Magic”
I can’t help it if you look like an angel
Can’t help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain, so
Come feel this magic I’ve been feelin’ since I met you
Can’t help it if there’s no one else
Mmm, I can’t help myself
If you look like an angel
Can’t help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain, so
Come feel this magic I’ve been feelin’ since I met you
Can’t help it if there’s no one else
Mmm, I can’t help myself
[Outro]
Oh-oh, myself
Mmm, I can’t help myself
I can’t help myself, oh-oh-oh
Mmm, mmm
Mmm, mmm, mmm
The final chorus and outro echo her internal monologue, with repetition and lots of “mmm, mmm.” She’s thinking, and circling round and round this idea of him and of them together.
She’s inviting him to “come feel this magic” with her, and quite honestly Stephen, you would be a fool not to!
Hey Stephen Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts
Hey Stephen is such a pure song about unrequited love. Though it’s fairly simple, and one of the least complex on Fearless, we can still see some unique Taylor devices coming through.
Her themes of light/shining, magic, things left unsaid, and rain will are all threaded throughout this album and the rest of her discography.
But what’s most notable about this song is that it mentions her subject by name. Taylor has only done this once; the rest of the time she leaves us guessing (with the exception of non-romantic songs like marjorie).
In future songs, she’ll be a lot more subtle about the subject, but here, she so purely and sweetly mentions his name. Does Stephen know how significant he is? I’ll bet he kicks himself everyday for not picking up on Taylor’s (heavy) hints.
More Songs from Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
- Fearless & Fearless TV Prologues
- Fearless
- Fifteen
- Love Story
- Hey Stephen
- White Horse
- You Belong With Me
- Breathe
- Tell Me Why
- You’re Not Sorry
- The Way I Loved You
- Forever & Always
- The Best Day
- Change
- Jump Then Fall
- Untouchable
- Come in With the Rain
- Superstar
- The Other Side of the Door
- Today Was a Fairytale
- You All Over Me [From the Vault]
- Mr Perfectly Fine [From the Vault]
- We Were Happy [From the Vault]
- That’s When (ft. Keith Urban) [From the Vault]
- Don’t You [From the Vault]
- Bye Bye Baby [From the Vault]