Three Folklore songs make up Taylor Swift’s teenage love-triangle narrative involving “august.”
The connected songs are “Cardigan,” “august,” and “Betty.” Together, they depict a fictional story involving James, Betty, and the unnamed girl whose summer romance with James is portrayed in “august.”
Each song approaches the story from a different angle. “Cardigan” is associated with Betty, “Betty” presents James’s perspective, and “august” focuses on the girl involved in the temporary summer relationship. The songs are linked by characters and events rather than by a single continuous musical style.
Swift developed these imagined characters and story arcs while writing Folklore during the COVID-19 pandemic. The narrative is fictional, so the characters should not be treated as direct autobiographical portraits of Swift or her relationships.