Three Taylor Swift songs on Folklore depict the James-Betty love triangle that includes “august.”
The three songs are “cardigan,” “august,” and “betty.” Each approaches the same fictional situation from a different perspective: Betty narrates “cardigan,” the unnamed summer partner narrates “august,” and James narrates “betty.”
Swift described the songs as connected parts of a story rather than unrelated tracks. “august” was the first of the three that she wrote, even though the songs were later understood together as a narrative trilogy.
A common mistake is to count only the two songs that explicitly name James and Betty. “august” is essential to the triangle even though its narrator is not named. The annual August trend focuses on that track, but its story gains additional meaning when heard with the other two songs.