Taylor Swift’s “august” became part of a three-song fictional love triangle on Folklore.
The connected songs are “cardigan,” “august,” and “betty.” They use recurring characters named Betty and James, plus the unnamed girl whose summer relationship with James is described in “august.” Swift created the narrative as fiction rather than presenting the songs as a literal account of her own life.
This concept is one of Folklore’s defining storytelling devices. The songs do not simply repeat the same scene; each one changes the emotional viewpoint. “cardigan” centers Betty, “betty” centers James, and “august” focuses on the girl who hoped a summer romance might become something lasting.
The album was released in July 2020 and is Swift’s eighth studio album. Evermore followed later that year, but its songs are not the home of this particular three-part narrative.