In Taylor Swift’s “august,” the narrator’s love interest is named James.
The song forms part of a fictional teenage love triangle on Folklore. James is already connected to Betty, but he has a brief summer romance with the unnamed female narrator of “august.” The narrator hopes the relationship might become permanent, although the song makes clear that James was never truly hers.
Swift presents the story through three viewpoints. “Cardigan” is associated with Betty, “Betty” presents James’s perspective, and “august” follows the girl who becomes involved with him during the summer. The three songs are linked by characters and story details rather than by a single continuous musical form.
Listeners sometimes call the narrator “August,” but Augustine is the character’s name in the broader story, while “August” is the song title. James is the boy at the center of the triangle and the person addressed through the narrator’s memories.