In Taylor Swift’s “august,” the narrator is longing for James.
The song tells the story from the perspective of a girl involved in a brief summer romance with James. James is already connected to Betty, and the relationship described in “august” ends when he returns to Betty. Swift presents the narrator as someone who hopes the temporary romance might become permanent.
James, Betty, and the unnamed girl form the fictional teenage love triangle associated with three Folklore songs. “august” gives the summer-romance perspective, “betty” presents James’s perspective, and “cardigan” presents Betty’s perspective.
Some listeners mistakenly treat the song as a direct autobiographical confession by Swift. However, Swift described the Folklore narratives as imagined stories and characters. James is therefore a fictional character within the album’s storytelling world, not a confirmed real-life person represented by the song.