What narrative connects Taylor Swift’s “August,” “Cardigan,” and “Betty”?

A love triangle connects Taylor Swift’s “August,” “Cardigan,” and “Betty.”

The three Folklore songs present different perspectives on a fictional teenage relationship. “August” follows the unnamed girl who has a summer romance with James. “Cardigan” is associated with Betty’s perspective, while “Betty” presents James’s viewpoint as he tries to repair his relationship with Betty.

The songs are not a straightforward autobiographical account of Swift’s life. She described Folklore as a project built around imagined narratives, story arcs, and characters. That fictional framing is why listeners can piece together a shared storyline even though the songs have distinct moods and narrators.

The narrator of “August” is not officially given a name in the lyrics. Swift said she imagined calling the character Augusta or Augustine, but those are informal descriptions rather than a lyric name. The central narrative remains the triangle involving James, Betty, and the unnamed August narrator.