Taylor Swift’s “August” appears on her eighth studio album, Folklore.
Folklore was surprise-released on July 24, 2020, through Republic Records. It was Swift’s first album after Lover and marked a major shift toward indie folk, chamber pop, and softer, more atmospheric songwriting.
“August” is one of Folklore’s fictional narrative songs. It contributes to a love-triangle storyline shared with “Cardigan” and “Betty,” rather than presenting a straightforward autobiographical account. The album’s lowercase styling and cottagecore-inspired visual world also became closely associated with its identity.
A common mix-up is numbering Folklore as Swift’s ninth album because Evermore followed later in 2020. Evermore is her ninth studio album; Folklore is the eighth.