“august” was the first of the three connected Folklore songs that Taylor Swift wrote.
The trilogy consists of “august,” “cardigan,” and “betty,” which explore a love triangle involving James, Betty, and an unnamed girl. Although “cardigan” opens the standard album sequence, “august” came first in Swift’s writing process for this particular narrative.
Swift imagined fictional characters and story arcs while making Folklore. The narrator of “august” is never given a definitive name in the lyrics, though Swift said she privately thought of names such as Augusta or Augustine. That unnamed quality emphasizes how briefly the character exists in James’s life.
The order of composition is different from the order listeners may infer from the track list. “august” appears as track eight on Folklore, while “cardigan” is the opening track and “betty” appears later.