In Taylor Swift’s “august,” the unnamed narrator falls for James, one of the three characters in Folklore’s fictional love triangle.
The triangle unfolds across “cardigan,” “august,” and “betty.” James is the teenage boy at the center of the story, while Betty is his established or former romantic connection. The narrator of “august” becomes involved with James during a summer romance but ultimately realizes that he was never truly hers.
Swift wrote these songs as imagined narratives rather than direct accounts of her own public relationships. That fictional framing is important because the characters’ names and actions belong to the story world of Folklore. Fans often refer to the unnamed narrator as Augustine or Augusta, but Swift said she had not formally named the character in the song.
A common error is to identify Betty as the narrator of “august.” Betty narrates “cardigan,” while “august” is told from the viewpoint of the other girl. James appears across the connected songs, making him the central link between the three perspectives.