The narrator of Taylor Swift’s “august” has a summer romance with James.
James is one point of the fictional love triangle developed across three Folklore songs. “august” is told from the perspective of the unnamed girl involved in the summer relationship, while “Cardigan” follows Betty and “Betty” presents James’s perspective.
The narrative describes a brief relationship that the narrator hopes might become more serious. She waits for James to call, cancels plans in case he contacts her, and remembers the romance after it has ended. James ultimately returns to Betty, leaving the narrator with the realization that the relationship was never truly hers.
A common mix-up is treating “August” as the narrator’s name. Swift said she imagined names such as Augusta or Augustine for the character, but the song does not name her. James, by contrast, is explicitly identified through the interconnected Folklore storyline.