In Taylor Swift’s “august,” James loves Betty, his former partner.
The song presents a fictional love triangle involving James, Betty, and an unnamed girl who has a short summer romance with James. From the narrator’s perspective, James is emotionally unavailable because he is already connected to Betty.
The storyline continues across three Folklore songs. “august” focuses on the unnamed narrator, “cardigan” presents Betty’s perspective, and “betty” presents James’s perspective. Together, the tracks show how the same relationship can look different depending on who is telling the story.
A common mistake is calling the narrator of “august” by a definite official name. Swift said she imagined names such as Augusta or Augustine, but the character is not explicitly named in the song. Betty, by contrast, is clearly identified as James’s former lover.