James is the fictional boy named in Taylor Swift’s “august” love-triangle story.
The song is one part of a three-track narrative on Folklore. “august” presents the perspective of a girl involved with James during a brief summer romance. “Cardigan” is associated with Betty’s perspective, while “Betty” presents James’s perspective.
Swift described the three songs as a fictional story rather than a direct account of real events. In the narrative, James is already connected to Betty, and the summer relationship in “august” ends when he returns to Betty.
The unnamed narrator is sometimes called Augustine or Augusta in discussions of the trilogy, but that is not the boy’s name. James is the male character who links all three songs and gives the storyline its central point of connection.