In Taylor Swift’s “august” storyline, James reunites with Betty after the summer romance.
The song is one part of a fictional love triangle created across Folklore. The unnamed narrator becomes involved with James during the summer, but James ultimately returns to Betty. This outcome gives the song its wistful quality: the narrator remembers something meaningful to her that was never truly hers to keep.
The other two songs in the connected story are “cardigan,” associated with Betty’s perspective, and “betty,” associated with James’s perspective. Reading the three tracks together helps clarify why the narrator of “august” is left outside the lasting relationship.
Listeners sometimes identify the narrator as Betty because both characters are central to the romance. However, Betty is the person James reunites with, while the narrator is the unnamed summer partner Swift privately called Augustine or Augusta.