In Taylor Swift’s “august,” the narrator loves a boy named James.
James is one point of the fictional love triangle connecting three Folklore songs. “august” presents the perspective of a girl involved with James during a summer when he is already connected to Betty. “Betty” later presents James’s perspective, while “Cardigan” is associated with Betty’s perspective.
The narrator of “august” is not officially given a name in the song. Swift said she imagined calling the character Augusta or Augustine, but those names are not stated in the lyrics. That distinction often causes fans to treat “Augustine” as a formal character name, even though the song’s narrative leaves her unnamed.
James is therefore the only named romantic figure directly associated with the narrator’s summer relationship. The story ends with James and Betty returning to one another, leaving the narrator to view the relationship as something temporary that was never truly hers.