Taylor Swift wrote “august” first among the three Folklore songs forming the love-triangle narrative. The other two songs in the trio are “cardigan” and “betty.”
The three tracks present connected perspectives involving Betty, James, and the unnamed female narrator of “august.” “cardigan” is associated with Betty’s perspective, “betty” with James’s perspective, and “august” with the girl involved in a summer romance with James. Swift developed the songs as fictional storytelling rather than as a direct account of her own life.
The writing order can be confused with the narrative order. “august” is not necessarily the first chapter listeners encounter on the album, and the characters’ chronology differs from the order in which the songs were written. Swift has also described the “august” narrator with names such as Augusta or Augustine in her imagination, but neither name is spoken in the song.