James is the boy at the center of the fictional summer romance in Taylor Swift’s “august.”
In the song’s story, the unnamed female narrator becomes involved with James during the summer. James is already connected to Betty, and the romance described in “august” ends when he returns to that relationship.
James also narrates the Folklore song “betty,” creating a direct link between the two tracks. “Cardigan” completes the three-song narrative from Betty’s point of view. Swift used these characters to explore the same emotional situation through different voices.
Listeners sometimes confuse James with Augustine, the informal name Swift said she imagined for the narrator of “august.” James is the male character; the female narrator is not named in the lyrics or officially identified by a single canonical name.